A harvest moon will shine over SC soon. Here’s when and what that means
Fall’s official harvest moon will occur later this week and it will be the last supermoon of the year.
This full moon will be at its peak illumination Friday at 5:57 a.m., according to Space.com, but will be visible beginning Thursday evening.
Why is it called a Harvest Moon?
Harvest moon is the term for the full moon that occurs closest to September’s autumnal equinox, which makes it able to occur either in September or October depending on the moon’s phase that year.
This year’s autumnal equinox occurred Sep. 23, marking the official start to fall. The date of the equinox fluctuates yearly between Sep. 22-23.
The name harvest moon reflects the time of year that it occurs, as many full moons are named to reflect the time of year they take place.
In addition to its seasonal name, there is another reason the harvest moon garnered its name.
The moon tends to rise around 50 minutes later every day. When the moon is full, it rises as the sun sets. However, in the northern hemisphere around the time of the harvest moon, the day-to-day difference in the time of moonrise is less than 50 minutes. When at the lower latitude of New York in the United States, the difference is around 25 minutes per day, according to timeanddate.com.
Historically, the extra moonlight from consecutive moonrises meant that farmers could work and harvest their crops for a longer period of time in the evenings. Thus, the term harvest moon was coined.
What will it look like in South Carolina?
Occasionally, this full moon has the ability to turn varying shades of orange, similar to a fall pumpkin decoration or jack-o-lantern. This phenomenon is due to the greater thickness in the atmosphere and its closer location to the horizon, according to EarthSky.
Its larger than normal appearance boils down to an illusion of the full moon’s physical state, also known as moon illusion.
This occurrence happens shortly after it has risen as the moon still lingers along the horizon. The moon’s reddish-orange appearance can also be equated to moon illusion, as it is caused by the greater thickness of the Earth’s atmosphere, detailed EarthSky.
This moon will also have the ability to appear full for a few days in a row.
What is a supermoon?
When the moon orbits Earth, it does so in an ellipse, which brings it closer to and farther from the earth as it goes around in an ovular pattern. During this cycle, a supermoon occurs when the moon’s orbit is closest, called perigee, to Earth at the same time the moon is full, according to NASA.
When a full moon is at perigee, the moon is at its closest point to Earth, which is an average distance of about 226,000 miles. When a full moon appears at perigee, it is slightly brighter and larger than a regular full moon.
The dates of the four 2023 supermoons include July 3, Aug. 1, Aug. 31 and Sept. 29.
How will this impact coastal tides in South Carolina?
This week, those living in coastal regions of South Carolina can expect to experience higher than normal tides, or king tides, as a result of the month’s supermoon.
“King tides occur during a perigean (when moon is closest to Earth) spring tide (full and new moon); in other words, a full or new moon must co-occur when the moon is closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit,” detailed the North Carolina King Tides Project.
Tide height comparisons for the month of September in reference to the moon’s phase can be found at Tidetime.org for three coastal South Carolina locations at the following hyperlinks.
Of the three destinations, Hilton Head Island will be experiencing the highest predicted tides at 8:28 a.m. EDT with a height of 8.66 ft on Sep. 29 and 8.85 ft at 9:14 a.m. EDT on Sep. 30.
2023 Full Moon Schedule
Here is a list of all the full moons set to occur this year and their peak illumination time in the Eastern Time Zone, according to NOAA:
Jan. 6: This full moon happened at 6:08 p.m. It’s called the wolf moon.
Feb. 5: This full moon happened at 1:29 p.m. It’s called the snow moon.
March 7: This full moon happened at 7:40 a.m. It’s called the worm moon.
April 6: This full moon happened at 12:34 a.m. It’s called the pink moon.
May 5: This full moon happened at 1:34 p.m. It’s called the flower moon.
June 3: This full moon happened at 11:42 p.m. It’s called the strawberry moon.
July 3: This full moon happened at 7:39 a.m. It’s called the buck moon.
Aug. 1: This full moon happened at 2:32 p.m. It’s called the sturgeon moon.
Aug. 30: This full moon happened at 9:36 p.m. It’s called the blue moon.
Sept. 29: This moon will occur at 5:57 a.m. It’s called the harvest moon.
Oct. 28: This moon will occur at 4:24 p.m. It’s called the hunter’s moon.
Nov. 27: This full moon will occur at 4:16 a.m. It’s called the beaver moon.
Dec. 26: This full moon will occur at 7:33 p.m. It’s called the cold moon.
This story was originally published September 28, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
