The 2023 harvest moon is also the last supermoon of the year. Here's the best time to see it when it rises next week.
Charlie Riedel/AP
- The last supermoon of the year will occur next Friday, September 29.
- A supermoon can appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than usual.
- This next supermoon is also a harvest moon. It will be most full right around sunrise on Friday.
Get ready, next Friday — September 29 — will be the last supermoon of 2023.
A supermoon is a type of full moon that can appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the faintest moon of the year. That's because it's at its closest point to Earth, called perigee, according to NASA.
Next Friday's supermoon is also this year's harvest moon, which is the full moon that occurs closest to the first day of autumn.
It's called the harvest moon because it occurs around the time each year when farmers in the northern hemisphere are ready to harvest their crops.
The best time to see the harvest supermoon is at moonrise
REUTERS/Mike Blake
Harvest moons can appear deep yellow, orange, or red, especially when they first rise from the horizon. Moonrise is also the best time to experience the sheer size of a supermoon.
When the moon is near the horizon, like during moonrise, foreground objects like trees and rocks can provide a sense of scale.
As a result, the moon looks the largest around this time than any other, according to NASA. And a supermoon can look especially impressive.
So, the best time to see this year's harvest supermoon is right around moonrise, which is approximately 7:00 pm local time. You can check exactly when moonrise is for your location on September 29 on TimeandDate.