SAN ANTONIO – The final supermoon of the year, the Harvest Moon, will take to the South Central Texas sky in the early morning hours of Friday, Sept. 29.
What is a supermoon?
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Supermoons occur when the full moon coincides with its closest approach to Earth, a point that is also referred to as perigee, according to NASA.
Technically supermoon isn’t an official astronomical term, however, it’s used to describe a full moon that comes within at least 90 percent of perigee. NASA officials say supermoons occur three to four times a year and always appear consecutively.
NASA’s Daily Moon Guide shows that the moon will be roughly 224,854 miles from Earth during the Harvest Moon on Friday.
This full moon will appear about 5% bigger and 13% brighter than the average full moon of 2023.
“Many cultures around the world have harvest-related festivals at this time of year,” NASA officials said.
What will viewing conditions be like?
Your Weather Authority’s current forecast shows clear-to-mostly clear skies on Friday morning when the moon is expected to be at its fullest, just before 5 a.m.
The humidity will also build overnight, with temperatures gradually falling into the low-to-mid 70s by 7 a.m. Friday morning.
How are full moons named?
Did you know that full moons have names that were bestowed on them based on both Native American and ancient cultures?
According to National Geographic, ancient cultures would give each full moon a different name based on the behavior of the plants, animals or weather during that month.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the popular names of the full moons for the year are:
- January - Wolf Moon
- February - Snow Moon
- March - Worm Moon
- April - Pink Moon
- May - Flower Moon
- June - Strawberry Moon
- July - Buck Moon
- August - Sturgeon Moon
- September - Corn Moon
- October - Hunter Moon
- November - Beaver Moon
- December - Cold Moon
Alternative names for the September full moon are the Autumn Moon, Falling Leaves Moon, Corn Moon and Moon of Brown Leaves.
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