With unseasonably warm summer temperatures persisting over much of the world this year, it seems hard to believe that this is the week of the Harvest Moon, the full moon nearest to the autumnal equinox.

Saturday, Sept. 22, was the first official day of autumn in much of the Northern Hemisphere, even though it will still officially be summer through the daylight hours. The moment of the equinox — the official end of summer and beginning of autumn — will not arrive until 9:54 p.m. EDT. East of the prime meridian, where the equinox occurs after midnight, the first day of fall will actually be on Sunday (0154 GMT, Sept. 23).

The moon will officially turn full two nights later, on Monday (Sept. 24), when it will reach the spot in the sky opposite (180 degrees) to the sun. That moment will occur at 10:52 p.m. EDT (0252 GMT on Sept. 25). The moon will slowly wane thereafter, making this upcoming week one that will be rich in moonlight. [The Moon: 10 Surprising Lunar Facts]

This year's version of the Harvest Moon falls in September, although on occasion, this branding can be conferred upon the October full moon. From 1970 to 2020, this calendrical oddity happens a dozen times and in fact happened just last year. The Harvest Moon can occur as early as Sept. 8 (as in 2014) or as late as Oct. 7 (as in 1987).

Origin of the Harvest Moon

So, by all of the natural signs in the heavens, the time of autumn harvest is with us again. The term Harvest Moon traces back to preindustrial times, when farmers — lacking the technology available today — were pressed by the season and welcomed a moonlit week to stretch the shortening daylight hours. Their fields had to be harvested before the farm could be bundled up for the impending winter season. Crops had to be housed. Firewood had to be cut. The daylight hours were rapidly diminishing at this time of year; seemingly, there was not enough time for all the chores that needed to be done in the sun. The Harvest Moon was a welcome lantern in the early evening sky.


This year, it's merely a beautiful late September moon that will provide a series of bright moonlit nights at a time when the seasons are at the turn. The next full moon, on Oct. 24, will be the Hunter's Moon, traditionally touched with frost and framed in the glorious colors of autumn leaves.

The seasons march on. Summer wanes and comes to its end with this weekend's waxing moon.


Native American Names: Soaproot (Pomo). Corn Moon (Pueblo). Harvest moon (Hopi). Singing Moon (Celtic). Leaf fall Moon (Kiowa). Ripe Moon (San Juan). Maize Moon (Natchez). Acorns Moon (Wishram). Rice Moon (Anishnaabe). Hay Cutting Moon (Yuchi). Mulberry Moon (Choctaw). Deer Paw Moon (Omaha). Snow Goose Moon (Cree). Freshness Moon (Mohawk). Harvest Moon (Neo-Pagan). Harvest (Colonial American). Little Chestnut Moon (Creek). Corn Maker Moon (Abernaki). Drying Grass Moon (Arapaho). Yellow Leaf Moon (Assiniboine). Drying Grass Moon (Cheyenne). Autumn Moon (Passamaquoddy). Barley Moon (Mediaeval English). Calves Hair Growth Moon (Dakota). Yellow Leaf Moon(Taos Native American). Nut Moon, Black Butterfly Moon (Cherokee). Drying Grass Moon, Black Calve Moon, fScarlet Plum Moon (Sioux). Harvest Moon, Corn Moon, Barley Moon, Fruit Moon, Dying Grass Moon (Algonquin).