The “summer of the supermoon” has come to an end. Every full moon throughout summer, which started on June 21 and concluded on Sept. 23, was a big and bright supermoon. However, the cosmos is about to perform an encore that will coincide with one of the most well-known full moons of the entire year.
As AccuWeather reports, on Thursday night, the Harvest Moon will illuminate the sky. This nickname is given to the full moon that falls closest to the September equinox, which occurred this past Saturday at 2:50 a.m. EDT.
The moniker dates back hundreds of years, as the moonlight helped farmers work well past sunset to harvest their crops before the first frost and freeze of the season. The upcoming Harvest Moon will also be the final supermoon of 2023, appearing slightly bigger and brighter than other full moons throughout the rest of the year. The result is the long-winded nickname of a Super Harvest Moon, although it will appear like an ordinary full moon to many onlookers.
If you’re a supermoon fan, soak this up! The next one won’t light up the night sky until September 18, 2024.
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