harvest moon

[tinyboy21]

Have any of you ever seen a harvest moon? I did once, and it was amazing. Just sharing.

[Tetrahedrite]

Yes, I have. It is incredible how big the moon looks when when it has risen just after the sun has set.

[coquina]

You know what is funny? The moon looks so huge when it is just over the horizon, and much smaller when it is high in the sky, but it is the same size. Someone challanged me on this, and so I took a set of vernier calipers outside and set them to measure the moon's diameter just after moonrise at the Harvest Moon. Then I went back several hours later and held the preset calipers up to the moon and it was still the same dimension.

[Coral Rhedd]

What makes a harvest moon look so big?

 

The hunter's moon is pretty fabulous too.

[ecoli]

What makes a harvest moon look so big?

 

It's probably some sort of optical illusion

[husmusen]

Yes I believe so, A huge moon hanging low in the sky.

It also had a spooky orange-red colour to it.

 

Superb to look at though, pity I didn't have my telescope with me.

I wonder if detail is enhanced or just size?

 

Cheers.

[-Demosthenes-]

I think it has something to do with the horizon. When the moon is behind the horizon it looks as far away as the horizon so it looks small. When its in the sky there is nothing to compare its distance to, so it looks closer, or bigger.

[mmalluck]

Um, i think you got that backwards.

 

It looks bigger when it's on the horizon because you can compare it to your suroundings.

 

When it's up in the middle of the sky you don't have any point of reference, so it looks smaller.

 

Then again, I live in Georgia, so my horizon is a close as the nearest tree, hill, or building. I suppose if you were out in a flat desert area, the converse could be true.

[tinyboy21]

I never really wondered what caused a harvest moon, its kind of cool. Btw, what is a hunters moon?

[-Demosthenes-]

Oh sry you are right, its backwards.

[Bettina]

Someone told me that the reason the moon looked larger when low on the horizon was because of the warm air, smog, and pollutants. He said when combined, they produced one big magnifying effect.

 

This made some sense to me especially that it doesn’t happen during winter months.

 

Bettina

[-Demosthenes-]

The moon looks bigger to me near the horizon becuase its behind the mountains, and my brain knows how big the mountains are, and therefore roughly how far away they are. So the moon looks far away behind the mountains and the moon seems further away and bigger, and when its in thw sky there is nothing to compare it to, so our minds can only guess.

A more specific example.

[atinymonkey]

I never really wondered what caused a harvest moon, its kind of cool. Btw, what is a hunters moon?

A Hunter's Moon is the full moon after Harvest Moon. All 12 cycles of the moon are named in the US, the Hunter is Novembers.

[JohnB]

A Hunter's Moon is the full moon after Harvest Moon.

Not if you're a night-fighter pilot over Europe in 1944.

[YT2095]

yes I have seen it before, and it`s a fantastic feeling that accompanies it (for me anyway) the moon looks REAL like a Ball not too far from us.

 

atm there`s 13 moon phases.

 

and the atmosphere on earth works like a magnifying glass when its low on the horizon (more air to penetrate horizontal than directly above).

 

 

anyone ever seen rings around the Moon on a very cold frosty night that look almost like a rainbow with some colors missing?

It`s certainly one to look out for, but wrap up warm, as it only happens on VERY cold nights!

[Coral Rhedd]

Just thought I'd mention that the full moon of February (Feb 24 this week) has three names. Hunger Moon, Snow Moon, Wolf Moon.

[coquina]

I think the Harvest Moon looks so big as opposed to the full moons of the warm months because the air has gotten a lot clearer than it was in the summertime. You not only see its size, but you see the detail. The same is true when you are on a boat in the late fall - you can see so much farther than normal and with such clarity that distance can be deceiving.

 

So, what about the "blue moon" the second full moon in the same month, as in "once in a blue moon".

[YT2095]

aha! that`s why it`s called that, I always beleived it was actualy a Blue moon, probably caused by some atmospheric phenomenon.

 

Now I Know! )

[-Demosthenes-]

I thought a blue moon refered to having two full moons in one month right?

[Ophiolite]

It seems there are two definitions (I checked because, like YT, I thought it related to rare atmospheric conditions.)

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bluemoon1.html

[Guest SLY]

So, what about the "blue moon" the second full moon in the same month, as in "once in a blue moon".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nope, this is wrong. Facts from NASA say that the second full Moon in the same month is "modern folklore".

 

Link from NASA

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/07jul_bluemoon.htm

Editors Note:

The definition of a Blue Moon used in this story, "the second full moon in a calendar month," is a curious bit of modern folklore. How it emerged is a long story involving old almanacs, a mistake in Sky & Telescope magazine, and the board game Trivial Pursuit. Want to know more? Folklorist Philip Hiscock recounts part of the story; Sky & Telescope explains the rest. <--Link

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/moon/article_127_3.asp

"the Blue Moon fell on August 21st (obviously not the second full Moon that month) and that 1937 had only 12 full Moons. But only in retrospect is his error so obvious."

 

~Sly

[Guest SLY]

Just thought I'd mention that the full moon of February (Feb 24 this week) has three names. Hunger Moon, Snow Moon, Wolf Moon.

 

That would depend on the calendar you are using.

I was born the eve of the Wolf Moon & the calendar I use says it is in December. December actuality means the tenth month btw. Sad how things have been so twisted over the decades, centuries. IMO

 

ETYMOLOGY: Middle English decembre, from Old French, from Latin December, the tenth month of the Roman year, probably from *decemmembris, from *decem-mnsris : decem, ten;

 

If your sources are the so called "Wicca & Pagan" websites on the net for this information, my research has shown me that they are at least 80% wrong. And most are all copied from the same fictitious sources.

 

~Sly