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Queen guitarist Brian May and David Eicher launch new astronomy book. Last chance to join our Costa Rica Star Party! Learn about the Moon in a great new book New book chronicles the space program. Dave's Universe Year of Pluto. Groups Why Join? Astronomy Day. Folks in parts of Africa, Europe and Asia will be treated to a penumbral eclipse, essentially a dimming of the moon, not a full disappearing act. But there's a full moon risin' Let's go dancin' in the light Because I'm still in love with you On this Harvest Moon pic.
So crank up the tunes, grab your favorite pumpkin beverage and enjoy the show tonight! The harvest moon will be rising above the countryside at p. CBSN Boston. Cambridge Building Evacuated For Carbon Monoxide The residents were allowed to return to the building the same evening. There's an effect discovered a century ago called the Ponzo illusion that describes how this works. In the illusion, you have a scene where two lines are converging, like railroad tracks stretching away into the distance.
On top of these lines are drawn two horizontal bars of equal length. Surprisingly, the horizontal bars appear to be different sizes, because your brain's hard-wired sense of how distance works forces you to perceive it this way. This effect is related to how forced perspective works in paintings. But this isn't a perfect explanation, either. NASA astronauts in orbit also see the Moon illusion, and they have no foreground objects to act as distance clues. So, there's likely more going on. In the absence of a complete explanation for why we see it like that, we can still agree that — real or illusion — a giant Moon is a beautiful sight.
So, until someone puzzles out exactly what our brains are up to, it's probably best to just enjoy the Moon illusion, and the moody, atmospheric, and sometimes downright haunting vistas it creates. A supermoon rises Dec. This full Moon was the first of three consecutive supermoons. If interested, here is more detailed information about the Harvest Moon.
Warning: Scientific explanation below! But around the date of the Harvest Moon, the Moon does rise at about the same time for several days in a row. Remember that the zodiac is the band of constellations through which the Moon travels from night to night. The section of the zodiac band in which the full Moon travels around the start of autumn is the section that forms the most shallow angle with the eastern horizon.
The Moon may rise as little as 23 minutes later on several nights before and after the full Harvest Moon at about 42 degrees north latitude , which means extra light at peak harvest time near autumn. By the time the Moon has reached last quarter, however, the typical minute delay has returned.
At the start of spring, the opposite applies. The full Moon is in the section of the zodiac that has the steepest angle with respect to the eastern horizon.
For several days bracketing the full Moon nearest the vernal equinox , the delay in moonrise is as much as 75 minutes at 42 degrees north latitude. Thus, to say that the Moon is getting rapidly farther north each night around the time of the Harvest Moon is to say that, for northern latitudes on Earth, it will keep rising distinctly earlier than would otherwise be expected—nearly the same time as the night before.
This varies with latitude, for the farther north you are, the shallower the angle of the zodiac is with respect to your horizon. In most of the United States and southern Canada, the Harvest Moon rises 25 to 30 minutes later each night. The effect is less noticeable the farther south you go.
But going north makes the Harvest Moon more extreme. According to astronomy author Guy Ottewell, the idea of the Harvest Moon originated in Europe average latitude about 50 degrees north , where the Harvest Moon rises only ten to 20 minutes later each night. It must have seemed a boon that just when days were getting rapidly shorter and the Sun seemed to go down all too soon, the Harvest Moon arrived to extend the hours that harvesting could be done.
As a final note, I should add that it is not just Western civilization that has given special importance to the Harvest Moon. I remember vividly being invited to one such celebration and singing songs and playing my guitar to a circle of friendly faces in the light of the rising Harvest Moon. Ever notice that the low-hanging Moon looks especially big near the horizon? Learn more about this trick of the eye called the Moon Illusion. Find out what your Moon phase is tonight and when the next full Moon is.
I love the Old Farmer's Almanac! My grandmother always had a copy on the table beside of her chair. We only got to visit with her a couple of times a year but I would read it cover to cover! I learned so much from it.
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