Full Harvest Moon: What You Need to Know About September's Full Moon 2024

All full moons are impressive sights on their own, but this week's Full Harvest Moon will be especially noteworthy. In addition to being a slightly larger-than-average "supermoon," September's full moon will also experience a partial lunar eclipse when it rises on the evening of Sept. 17.

The partial lunar eclipse will be visible from most of North America, all of South America, Europe, all but the easternmost parts of Africa, western portions of Asia and Russia, and parts of Antarctica.

If you are unable to watch the lunar eclipse in person you can watch all the action unfold online here on Space.com. We have rounded up several livestreams that are showing the Super Harvest Moon lunar eclipse on Sept. 17.

"Supermoon" is a non-astronomical term that describes a full moon that occurs when the moon is at or close to perigee, the closest approach to Earth in its slightly elliptical orbit. During these times, the moon can appear a bit larger in the sky, although the difference can be difficult to notice with the naked eye for most observers.

September's Full Harvest Moon is the second of four consecutive supermoons this year, following August's Supermoon Blue Moon.

The name harvest moon is a nod to the season of gathering because the event occurs close to the beginning of fall, or the autumnal equinox, which fell this year on September 23. Typically, this time of year is when many crops peak in the Northern Hemisphere, and the bright moon once helped farmers work into the evening to harvest their bounty ahead of the first frost, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Other monikers for September’s full moon across different indigenous tribes include the corn maker moon from the Abenaki tribe, the moon of the brown leaves from the Lakota people and autumn moon from the Passamaquoddy tribe.

Other harvest-celebrating traditions around this time include the Korean festival of Chuseok and the Japanese Buddhist holiday of Higan, both of which also celebrate the remembrance of ancestors, according to Royal Museums Greenwich.

Many people associate the harvest moon with being orange in color as it begins to rise, but the same could be said of all full moons. The hue is due to the thickness of Earth’s atmosphere near the horizon, which is greater than when the full moon is overhead, according to EarthSky.

Several planets are also currently visible in the night sky, according to The Planetary Society. Gold-tinged Saturn and bright Jupiter rise in the east and appear high in the later hours, while Venus (one of the brightest objects visible in the night sky) shines before dawn. Meanwhile, Mercury dances low along the eastern horizon before dawn.

Learn Native American Names: Soaproot (Pomo). Corn Moon (Pueblo). Harvest moon (Hopi). Singing Moon (Celtic). Leaf fall Moon (Kiowa). Ripe Moon (San Juan). Maize Moon (Natchez). Acorns Moon (Wishram). Rice Moon (Anishnaabe). Hay Cutting Moon (Yuchi). Mulberry Moon (Choctaw). Deer Paw Moon (Omaha). Snow Goose Moon (Cree). Freshness Moon (Mohawk). Harvest Moon (Neo-Pagan). Harvest (Colonial American). Little Chestnut Moon (Creek). Corn Maker Moon (Abernaki). Drying Grass Moon (Arapaho). Yellow Leaf Moon (Assiniboine). Drying Grass Moon (Cheyenne). Autumn Moon (Passamaquoddy). Barley Moon (Mediaeval English). Calves Hair Growth Moon (Dakota). Yellow Leaf Moon(Taos Native American). Nut Moon, Black Butterfly Moon (Cherokee). Drying Grass Moon, Black Calve Moon, fScarlet Plum Moon (Sioux). Harvest Moon, Corn Moon, Barley Moon, Fruit Moon, Dying Grass Moon (Algonquin).