What is the reapers moon? What is its relationship to the autumnal equinox?

Written By رنا السيلاوي on 2022/09/06

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.

Arab weather - The harvester moon appears in September of each year, when the moon is in the process of being completed (full moon) and illuminates the sky of the Arab world and the world, but why was it called the harvest moon? Why is it associated with the autumnal equinox?

The date of the harvest moon for 2022

This year 2022, the Reapers Moon (the full moon of September) will appear after sunset on the evening of Saturday, September 10, and it will remain visible almost all night long.

Why is it called the harvest moon?

The full moons of each month have a unique name, but these names were chosen not by NASA (as one might initially expect), but by the indigenous Algonquin and Iroquois tribes of North America, who distinguished past seasons by relating changes in the Earth. those in the sky.

With regard to the reapers’ moon, farmers in America and Europe during the past decades took advantage of the moon’s distinctive brightness to work at night under the moonlight, as they were following the plowing of the earth and scattering seeds and others at night in preparation for the current season and waiting for rain, and for this reason the moon was called on this night the name “ The Harvest Moon , or the Harvest Moon.

What is the relationship between the harvest moon and the autumnal equinox?

The phenomenon of the Harvest Moon occurs when it is full or a full moon around the time of the autumnal equinox , which falls on September 22 or 23 of each year, when it is higher towards the north in the sky and brighter than the brightness of the full moon in other months. When the moon rises in other months.

Unlike other full moons, this full moon rises around the same time (around sunset) for several consecutive evenings, giving farmers several additional evenings of moonlight and allowing them to finish their harvest before the autumn frost arrives.

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Facts about the harvest moon

Moonrise is usually about 50 minutes late each day, but around the time of the autumnal equinox (that is, in the case of the reapers' moon) it is delayed from the previous night by 30 to 35 minutes in the regions on the equator, and it also rises minutes before sunset.
The reapers moon can be seen from all parts of the earth, but in order to see it fully, the atmosphere is clear of clouds, mist and dust.
The Harvest Moon rises earlier and sets later than the rest of the full moon phases during the year, so it provides additional lighting hours for several consecutive evenings.

It is noticed that the moon is larger and tilted orange.. What is the reason?

He will notice that the apparent size of the moon will be large when it is near the horizon, and it can be pink or orange; But after it rises in the sky, it returns to its usual size, and this is just an optical illusion that occurs in the middle of each lunar month.

The color pink or orange can appear when the moon rises due to the atmosphere of our planet; Its components scatter the white light reflected from the moon; So that the colors of the blue spectrum with a short wavelength are scattered and the colors of the red spectrum with a long wavelength that reach our eyes remain, which is the same reason why we see the setting sun in a reddish color.

Historic Harvest Moons

The harvest moon occurs once a year, and there are unforgettable events in the minds of lovers of astronomy for the harvest moons, the most important of which are:

Reapers Moon 2010: Although the event is rare, the Reapers Moon phenomenon sometimes occurs on the night of the autumnal equinox itself. This happened recently on September 22, 2010, this has not happened before in 20 years, and it will happen again until 2029.

Super Reapers Moon 2015: The Reapers Moon of 2015 appeared 14% larger than the usual full moon due to its being closer to Earth, and what's more, a total lunar eclipse, or "blood moon," also occurred on the same evening. According to National Geographic, this confluence of events has only occurred five times since 1900, and astronomy fans will have to wait until 2033 to repeat it, God willing.