The Super Harvest Moon and a partial eclipse of the Moon

 Traditionally, September was the month when crops were harvested; a time of year that was vital to local economies across the country. Harvesting the crops as quickly as possible was crucial in ensuring that people had enough food for winter. This is why the full moon we see this month is probably the best known of all: the Harvest Moon.

This won’t be the usual Harvest Moon, but a Super Harvest Moon. This is the second of the four super moons this year. On September 18^th when the Moon is full it will be slightly closer than normal and hence a supermoon. The supermoon in October will be the closest of the year.

At this time of year, when the Sun sets, the Moon rises, which in pre-mechanised times meant that harvesting was not restricted to the normal hours of daylight. In medieval times all the harvesting was done by hand so it took much longer than it does today. The moonlight allowed entire villages to work throughout the night. (Of course, the Moon does not shine, so ‘moonlight’ is really reflected sunlight.) The extra light a couple of days either side of full moon helped farmers to harvest enough to survive the coming winter and have enough to sell at the markets, which were then the lynch pins of the economy.

As well as the Harvest Super Moon there will also be a partial eclipse of the Harvest Moon on September 18^th. An eclipse of the Moon occurs when the Moon passes into the shadow cast by the Earth. The Moon does not shine it simply reflects light from the Sun which is why we see tt. Although the light from the Sun cannot get directly to the Moon it can reach it by passing through the Earth’s atmosphere.  The light we see from the Sun is made up of the colours that form the colours of the rainbow. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and violet. The atmosphere blocks the blue light to pass which means that the normally white moon turns a wonderful coppery red colour. 

This is only a partial eclipse so only around 8% of the Moon will enter the Earth’s shadow. In addition the time when the moon passes into the shadow will be in the early morning between 03.12 until 04.16 am. If you are around at that time in the morning look to the top north east part of the Moon and you will see a small coppery red patch. This is a small partial eclipse of the Moon

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