Full Moon October 2039: Harvest Moon
The full moon closest to the September equinox, which can fall in September or early October. Times convert to your time zone (showing UTC).
Peak fullness (showing UTC)
- Name
- Harvest Moon
- Distance
- 388,787 km
- Type
- Average
About the Harvest Moon
The full moon closest to the September equinox, which can fall in September or early October.
Its name comes from the extra evening light it gave farmers finishing the harvest. Around the equinox the angle of the ecliptic to the horizon is shallow, so the moon rises soon after sunset for several nights in a row. It is the only full moon name defined by the equinox rather than the month.
Watch the moonrise on the two or three evenings around the full date; the near-continuous dusk-to-moonlight transition is the effect farmers valued.
Lore
For centuries farmers relied on the Harvest Moon's extra evening light to bring in the crops after sunset. The effect is real: near the equinox the Moon's path meets the horizon at a shallow angle, so it rises soon after sunset for several nights in a row. Harvest festivals across the northern hemisphere, from Canadian Thanksgiving to the Mid-Autumn Festival, sit close to this moon.
Trivia
- The Harvest Moon can fall in September or early October; it is the only full moon defined by the equinox rather than the month.
- 'Shine On, Harvest Moon' was a 1908 vaudeville hit that is still recorded today.
- The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the day of this full moon in the Chinese lunar calendar.
Second full moon of the month (showing UTC)
- Name
- Blue Moon (Hunter's Moon)
- Distance
- 398,558 km
- Type
- Average
About the Blue Moon
A second full moon in one calendar month. It happens about every two and a half years and has nothing to do with color.
The monthly definition became popular after a 1946 Sky and Telescope article misread the Maine Farmers' Almanac, which used an older seasonal rule: the third full moon in a season that has four. Both definitions are in use today. The phrase "once in a blue moon" predates both and simply means rarely.
Because the calendar month decides it, a Blue Moon in one time zone can be an ordinary full moon in another when the full moon falls within hours of midnight on the first or last day of the month.
Lore
The phrase once in a blue moon is older than any astronomical definition and originally meant something absurd or never. The modern rule, a second full moon in one calendar month, spread from a 1946 magazine article and a 1980s radio programme. Genuinely blue-looking moons have been seen after huge volcanic eruptions and forest fires, when smoke particles scatter red light.
Trivia
- Monthly Blue Moons happen about every 2.7 years.
- The older seasonal rule calls the third full moon of a season with four the Blue Moon.
- After Krakatoa erupted in 1883 the Moon appeared blue or green for nearly two years.
All moon phases in October 2039
| Phase | Date and time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| Full Moon | |
| Last Quarter | |
| New Moon | |
| First Quarter | |
| Full Moon |
See the whole month day by day on the moon phases calendar for your city.