Sun rises at 6:08am.
Sun sets at 6:08pm.
Moon phase: Full Moon!
Moon rises at 7:09pm on Saturday.
Moon sets at 7:40am on Sunday.
Harvest Moon
“Shine on, shine on harvest moon, up in the sky, I ain’t had no loving since January, February, June or July.”
Remember that old song? Well, this is the time of the year that inspired that sentiment – this weekend is the Harvest Moon, the full moon closest to the fall equinox. A time when traditional cultures would be harvesting crops before the cold weather comes along essentially putting an end to the year’s growing season. Then comes the arduous process of canning all those veggies and fruit, so the winter meals have memories of the bright summer flavours. Ah, living by the seasons, perhaps we have forgotten all about that kind of life, but our grandparents and their grandparents knew it well.
Fall (Autumnal) Equinox
The seasons are turning, whether you notice or not, and this coming week is a critical turning point. Thursday, September 22, marks the autumnal equinox, i.e., the end of summer and the beginning of fall, at least for the Northern Hemisphere, of which we are a part.
Our “four seasons” are not manmade; they are the natural pulse of our earth and are based upon astronomical geometry, in other words, the relative angles of the sun and the earth out in space. Mostly everyone will tell you that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but that is in fact an approximation. Most days, the sun rises a little to the north or a little to the south of due east – the same for the setting in the west. But this coming Thursday, the autumnal equinox, the sun will be rising exactly in the east and setting exactly in the west.
This is due to the earth’s angle of tilt. As we travel in our orbit around the sun, the angle of tilt which our planet is inclined, namely 22½ᴼ, causes the northern half of our spherical planet to dip towards the sun from June to September (the summer) and away from the sun from December to March (the winter). In the fall and spring, we are in transition, and all parts of the planet receive relatively equivalent amounts of sunlight.
So enjoy the full moon this weekend, and acknowledge the autumnal equinox later on next week. The cooler nights of autumn are on their way, our migratory birds are heading towards their Caribbean and South American breeding grounds, and hordes of sun-seeking tourists will soon adorn our streets and shorelines. We all live by the cycles of the seasons, in one way or another.
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles. If you are out later on in the week, each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett. Earthsky.org is a key resource for information and images. Questions or comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
