Auburn lecturer comments on Friday the 13th harvest moon

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Melissa Halford, a lecturer in Auburn University’s department of physics, commented on the Friday the 13th harvest moon that has social media buzzing with excitement.

Melissa Halford:

A harvest moon itself isn’t rare—this name just refers to the full moon that is closest to the autumnal equinox, one of the two times of year when day and night are of equal length. This year’s autumnal equinox occurs early in the morning on Sept. 23. Astronomically, it’s a bit interesting because the moon happens to be near its farthest point from Earth in its orbit. The moon’s orbit is slightly elongated rather than being perfectly circular, so each month it reaches perigee (closest) and apogee (farthest), with this month’s apogee happening on the night of the full moon. This is the opposite of a “supermoon” which occurs when there’s a full moon at perigee.

Any full moon rises in the evening, is highest in the sky in the middle of the night and sets early in the morning. The moon is full on Friday night, so if you want to see it high in the sky at its fullest, go out around midnight or 1 a.m. As long as there aren’t too many trees or buildings blocking your view, you’ll be able to see it for a few hours before (in the East) and after (in the West) and it will appear just as full.

The reason people are saying that this year’s harvest moon is special is that it happens to fall on Friday the 13th, and people attach significance to that day.

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