Thursday, September 28th, 2023
7:15 P. M.
It’s time for the famous “Harvest Moon” to make an appearance. This is the Full Moon that rises as the sun sets, and whose brightness has traditionally enabled farmers to continue to work into the night to harvest their crops. The name Harvest Moon is directly related to the fall equinox. This year it occurs in September because the Full Moon on the 28th is close to the fall equinox (September 23, 2023). When the Full Moon occurs in early October, then the Harvest Moon is that month, and September is simply the Full Corn Moon.
To add to the brightness of the evening, this will be the fourth Supermoon in a row. This is the last one we will see this year, so we will refer to it as the Harvest Supermoon. In general, a Supermoon appears about 8% bigger and 16% brighter than your average Full Moon.
There are many other names to choose from this month starting with the Autumn Full Moon and getting more specific with Falling Leaves Full Moon and Leaves Turning Full Moon. Rounding out the theme with more specificity, we have the Full Moon of Brown Leaves and the Yellow Leaf Full Moon. Turning our attention to animals, it is called The Mating Moon or The Rutting Moon because the deer and similar creatures begin the breeding cycle near the time of this Full Moon.
One of the pleasures of an evening walk this time of year is the chorus of nighttime insects, including crickets and katydids. We will stop to appreciate it, as the natural sounds of the early autumn night will cease with the first hard frost. We started with spring peepers around the spring equinox and now, near the autumnal equinox, the music plays on but with a completely different choir.
We hope you will join us for a stroll under the Harvest Supermoon. It’s a friendly group who gather, and we always welcome newcomers. We gather by the chairs behind the Borough Hall. Parking is available along First Avenue or on Channing Avenue.