If you’re a fan of astronomy, make sure you book this evening off in your diary.
Tonight, a full Harvest Moon is set to appear, and you don’t want to miss it!
A full Moon occurs when the moon has moved in its orbit so that Earth is “between” the Moon and the Sun. This means the moon’s face is fully lit up by the sun’s rays.
The official peak tonight will be at 22:05 BST, according to NASA.
However, it should be visible from sunset, which is set to take place at 18:37 BST tonight.
NASA said: “The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Wednesday morning through Saturday morning.”
This particular full moon is widely known as the Harvest Moon.
NASA explained: “During the harvest season farmers sometimes need to work late into the night by the light of the Moon.
“The full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the northern USA, and only 10 to 20 minutes later farther north in Canada and Europe.
“The Harvest Moon is an old European name with the Oxford English Dictionary giving 1706 as the year of its first published use. Most years the Harvest Moon falls in September but this is one of the years it falls in October.”
Other popular names include the Travel Moon, the Dying Grass Moon or Sanguine Moon.
If you miss tonight’s Harvest Moon, thankfully you’ll have a second chance to see a full moon later this month.
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