(UNDATED) – A rare Harvest Moon will appear in the night sky on Friday, September 13. It’s a full moon, but a tiny full moon that has been called a “harvest micromoon.”
Harvest moons occur at the peak of the harvest season, allowing farmers to still work late into the night. But the moon is unique for another reason, too.
It’s also a micromoon, which happens when the full moon is at the point in the moon’s orbit where it’s at its greatest distance from Earth, called apogee. At its apogee, the full moon will appear 14% smaller to people on Earth than when the moon is at its closest, making it a micromoon.
According to NASA, it’s called the Harvest Moon because it’s the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. The autumnal equinox occurs on September 23 at 3:50 a.m. It marks the end of summer and the start of fall.
NASA says the best time to watch the Full moon is Saturday, September 14 at 12:33 a.m. Eastern Time Zone (ET).
The last full moon on Friday the 13th happened on Oct. 13, 2000. It’s not expected to happen again until August 13, 2049.
