full, harvest moon

Event Date: September 29th
Time: 6:45 PM


Brief

   The full Moon isn't until 8:20 PM, as shown in image two below.  However, as we look at the upcoming image, it is similar to yesterday's, with the Moon on the rise as the Sun sets.  At this moment, the Sun is about 8 minutes from officially setting.  Once again, the celestial guidelines and the Moon's orbit show.  Since I am showing the Moon a little further east than yesterday, we also see a very slight slope of its orbit to the ecliptic, with descending node below the horizon.

Detailed
  
   Seeing a harvest Moon rise usually doesn't look any different than any other Moon rise-- unless it is at a perigee or apogee extreme; October 5th is apogee.  At only about a week away from being its furthest from us, the Moon is slightly smaller in size compared to average, at 30 arc-minutes (31 is about average).  However, the illusion of the Moon near the horizon against trees, houses, etc., makes the Moon seem larger in size; an illusion that baffles me.  As the Sun starts to sink further however, and the Moon is within atmospheric pollution, it may give it a yellow-ish color.  The contrast is usually better when viewing the Moon's maria (seas), which many see as facial features; hence, the (wo)man in the Moon.
Here is the second image of the Moon at the crest of fullness.  As mentioned yesterday with my harvest Moon reminder, this is about as high as the Moon needs to get out of atmospheric pollution to start seeming brighter; farmers finishing their harvests can be thankful of this.  Also as a reminder, sometimes the harvest Moon happens in early October, when harvest deadlines may be looming closer, faster.  The field of view for this zoom-in is 1º, giving an approximate magnification of 50x.

click on images to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp.