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September’s full moon, known as the Harvest Moon, will rise on Friday, Sept. 29 — and it is a special one. Not only will it be the fourth successive supermoon of 2023, but it is also the final supermoon of the year, thus marking the end of a very supermoon summer.
The term "supermoon" refers to full moons that happen around the time when the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit, an approach called "perigee". Fittingly for such a special supermoon, the Harvest Moon will also be joined by a parade of planets in the sky, including the solar system’s largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn, as well as its smallest, Mercury.
Following the full moon, which will be located in the Pisces constellation, the lunar face will recede, a process astronomers call "waning." After that, Earth's natural satellite will head toward its next intriguing phase, turning into a completely dark new moon on Oct. 14, which will mark the start of a new 29.5-day lunar cycle.
The run of four consecutive supermoons began with the Full Buck Moon on July 3. This was followed by two supermoons in August, the Full Sturgeon Moon on Tuesday, Aug. 1, and the Full Blue Moon on Aug. 30.
The moon will reach perigee in the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 27, at around 21:06 EDT, two days before the Harvest Moon, according to NASA. By the time the moon’s fully illuminated face is turned toward Earth, it will be around 224,657 miles from our planet, according to eclipse expert and retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espanak. This is opposed to the moon's average distance from Earth, which falls around 238,000 miles.
Edited by : www.linkedin.com/in/priyanka-v23
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