Photo: full Harvest Moon / Shutterstock
Lower Mainland stargazers were privy to a full sturgeon moon in August, but they'll be able to soak in a stunning full harvest moon this September.
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the Harvest Moon is tied to the autumnal equinox, rather than a specific month. As such, the Harvest Moon can fall in either September or October. However, this year the equinox is Sept. 22, so the harvest moon falls in September.
The Harvest Moon gets was given its name because farmers needed its silvery light to harvest crops. It has since inspired a rather dreamy, beautiful song by Canadian icon Neil Young, too.
The Old Farmer's Almanac also notes that Native peoples would give distinctive names to each reoccurring full moon to mark the change of seasons. As such, many of these names arose when Native Americans first interacted with colonialists. Other common names for the September full moon is the full corn moon and the fully barley moon.
According to the lunar calendar, the celestial affair takes place on Sept. 13 at 9:32 p.m. in Metro Vancouver.
Stargazers should opt to travel as far away from city lights as possible in order to avoid light pollution that will obscure the clarity of heavenly bodies. While this works best in more remote places, anywhere that has a higher elevation will also provide more ideal viewing conditions.
