Skywatching: Gorgeous Full Harvest Moon Rises Over The Horizon

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — October is an excellent time for Bucks County stargazers to look up at the heavens for a chance to see meteors, a spectacular harvest supermoon, and perhaps even the northern lights.

The opening act on Monday, Oct. 6, and Tuesday, Oct. 7, is the always gorgeous full harvest moon, which will rise over the eastern horizon at sunset. It already appears larger than normal as it creeps over the horizon soon after sunset, bathing the early evening landscape in golden moonlight.

The harvest moon will be the first of three consecutive supermoons to close out the year.

Also, three meteor showers — the Draconids, Orionids and Taurids — all peak in October.

A Big, Orange Supermoon

October full moons often appear orange because they rise just after sunset. Because of that, these full moons are sometimes associated with the “great pumpkin.”

Similar to the sun’s light as it sets, the moon’s light travels through a thicker part of Earth’s atmosphere when it is low on the horizon. This causes the shorter-wavelength blue light to scatter away, allowing the longer-wavelength orange and red light to shine through.

Supermoons occur when the moon is at perigee, the point in its orbit when it is closest to Earth, making it appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than the faintest full moon of the year. Although not an official astronomical term, any full moon that is at least 90 percent of perigee may be called a supermoon.

The average moon is about 238,900 miles from Earth, according to EarthSky. Compare that to the three supermoons this year:

• Oct. 6 full harvest moon: 224,599 miles
• Nov. 5 full beaver moon: 221,817 miles
• Dec. 4 full cold moon: 221,965 miles

(Patch Editor Joseph Hosey contributed to this report)