Wyoming Sky Features Harvest Moon

The Harvest Moon is the full moon nearest the beginning of the autumnal equinox and it goes hand in hand with the change of seasons. Friday night’s nearly full moon will be visible each night through the weekend, barring pesky clouds says USATODAY.

Treehugger.com writes “The September full moon has been known as the Full Corn Moon or the Full Barley Moon, as it marks the time of harvesting for the two crops. The Lakota Sioux referred to it moon as the “Moon When the Plums Are Scarlet.” The Omaha called it the “Moon When the Deer Paw the Earth” and the Sioux knew it as the “Moon When the Calves Grow Hair.”

The Harvest Moon appears to be a full moon rising for several days; giving farmers a “sunset extension” of sorts, which went to good use during the very busy time of harvest. The sunset-moonrise concurrence also makes for a great spectacle, for several days. Low-hanging moons at sunset are reddened by clouds and dust, giving them that surreal “giant floating pumpkin” effect that so perfectly ushers in the autumn.

Some will call it a Super Moon, appearing as a giant in the sky and bringing forth the so-called “moon illusion,” in which a horizon-hovering moon appears to be gigantic. The moon actually doesn’t change size, it’s just a trick of the eye as you can see in the above video from TED.

Much of the world — but not the USA — will also see a faint "penumbral" lunar eclipse during this full moon Friday evening. This happens when the moon slides through a faint part of Earth's shadow, turning the moon slightly less bright than usual. The eclipse will be visible in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, This will be the last eclipse of the year.

Do yourself a favor and listen to Neil Young's most excellent theme song.