Harvest Moon

The Moon is full today. But it’s not just any old full Moon. It’s the best-known of them all: the Harvest Moon – the subject of books, music, and lots of fall festivals. In centuries past, the Harvest Moon was much more than a pop-culture event. It provided enough light for farmers to harvest their crops well into the night. And at high northern latitudes, it helped out for several nights in a row. Officially, the Harvest Moon is the full Moon that’s closest to the fall equinox. That put it around harvest time – especially at higher latitudes, where autumn frosts soon would blanket the night. Without artificial lights to help them out, farmers relied on the Moon to add hours to their work time. The Moon is bright enough to help for several nights before and after it’s full. And thanks to the angle at which it climbs into the sky, for latitudes north of about Milwaukee or Minneapolis it rises only a few minutes later each night. So farmers in such high northerly climes didn’t have to wait around for the Moon to rise – they could keep on harvesting through the twilight and into the night. Tonight, the planet Saturn is quite close below the Moon at nightfall, and stays close throughout the night. It looks like a bright star. Like the full Moon, it’s about to line up opposite the Sun – setting up its own prime viewing time. We’ll have more about Saturn and the Moon tomorrow. Script by Damond Benningfield