Harvest Moon This Weekend: Late But Still Gorgeous

See the Special Effects of the Harvest Moon
Just as the sun is setting in the west this weekend, look to the east and see the harvest moon and Jupiter rising. (Image credit: Starry Night Software)

This weekend's full moon will be a somewhat special one in

The moon officially turns full when it reaches that spot in

It turns out that this full moon is also the one that comes closest

Between 1970 and 2050, there are 18 years when the harvest

Not a few people are under the impression that the harvest

For example, at New York City, moonrise on Oct. 3 is at 5:58

In actuality, the night-to-night difference is greatest for

The reason for this seasonal circumstance is that the moon

In contrast, for those living in the Southern Hemisphere, the ecliptic at this time of year appears to

Interestingly, for those who live near 60-degrees north latitude, the

Joe Rao serves as an

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Joe Rao
Skywatching Columnist

Joe Rao is Space.com's skywatching columnist, as well as a veteran meteorologist and eclipse chaser who also serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmers' Almanac and other publications. Joe is an 8-time Emmy-nominated meteorologist who served the Putnam Valley region of New York for over 21 years. You can find him on Twitter and YouTube tracking lunar and solar eclipses, meteor showers and more. To find out Joe's latest project, visit him on Twitter.