Shine on Harvest Moon for me and my gal

Autumn blew in last weekend with a chill and flourish of color. This weekend we get fall v2.0 with an appearance by the Harvest Moon, the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. The Harvest moon harks back to our … Continue reading →

The Harvest Moon from a few years back rises over Lake Superior at Brighton Beach in Duluth, Minn. Photo: Bob King
Autumn blew in last weekend with a chill and flourish of color. This weekend we get fall v2.0 with an appearance by the Harvest Moon, the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox.
The Harvest moon harks back to our agrarian past when farmers could continue harvesting by its light for several evenings in a row. Because the angle of the full moon’s path to the horizon is very shallow in September and October, the time difference between successive moonrises is only about 20-30 minutes instead of the usual 50-60 minutes. With moonrise happened nearly on the heals of sunset several nights in a row, farmers could harvest their crops into the night in the days before electric lighting.
The angle of the moon’s path to the horizon makes all the difference in moonrise times. ...