September 18 2013 Harvest Moon
by Joyce Dickens
Title
September 18 2013 Harvest Moon
Artist
Joyce Dickens
Medium
Photograph - Fine Art Photography
Description
Captured this evening at 7:19, as is....
The Harvest Moon is the full moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox, which marks the beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the equinox falls on Sunday, and the moon reaches its full phase in North America overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
This full moon is called the Harvest Moon because many fruits and vegetables tend to ripen in the late summer and early fall in the Northern Hemisphere. In the days before electricity, farmers relied heavily on this moon's light, working late into the evening to harvest their crops.
As it rises for several nights in a row at or near sunset, the moon will appear larger to observers near the horizon than it does high in the sky — a much-discussed phenomenon that is sometimes called "the moon illusion."
Our minds and eyes, used to seeing distant clouds on the horizon and closer ones a few miles overhead, tend to perceive objects on the horizon are much farther away than objects higher in the sky that have the same angular size. Since the moon is actually not farther away on the horizon, we may think that it appears larger — even though its angular size is the same.
This trick of the mind is true for the moon all year round, but it's particularly pronounced with the Harvest Moon, because this full moon's path around Earth creates a particularly narrow angle with the horizon. As a result, the moon rises only 30 minutes later every day around the fall equinox, far below the average of 50 minutes.
Sometimes the moon turns orange, just like a fall pumpkin, because of clouds and dust in the atmosphere close to the horizon. So the Harvest Moon may hang low and large on the horizon, like a colorful lantern.
Uploaded
September 18th, 2013
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Viewed 473 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 04/24/2024 at 10:52 AM
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Comments (31)
Lingfai Leung
Joyce, this is so beautiful and your moon shot inspired me to make my first successful harvest moon capture. Congratulations on your feature in WFS home page. voted
Joyce Dickens replied:
I saw yours my friend and it turned out so beautiful! Thank you for the congrats and lovely compliment :-)
Nava Jo Thompson
Joyce--you did a beautiful job on capturing the full moon! :) congratulations on your WFS feature! f/v
Randy Rosenberger
Beauty of a moon capture, Joyce, and just the right time of the year for that eerie look of the harvest moon! It is a true honor and privilege to FEATURE this creative and wondrous piece of art work on the WFS site, from one of our honored and prestigious members. This awesome piece of beauty is what we are looking for to promote and let others see, including other artists and potential customers, as your works are some of the Best of the Best in my Book! Thanks much for sharing this beauty with us. Fave and Vote Forever, Elvis
Joyce Dickens replied:
What a lovely comment and your awesome appreciation does not go unnoticed Randy; thank you from my heart! I am very honored to have my work featured in WFS....Joyce
Sandi Mikuse
Oh Joyce! Well done! I keep trying to take moon pictures but they never turn out! This is absolutely gorgeous! Magic! V
Yumi Johnson
Wonderful capture Joyce, we had a very heavy cloud over so we missed the "Harvest Moon". I'm glad you captured!! f/v
Joyce Dickens replied:
So pleased that you are enjoying Yumi; thank you so much for the appreciation! jd
George Bostian
Great Capture Joyce. George v/pif
Joyce Dickens replied:
George, thank you so much for the appreciation and the PIF - most appreciated! :-)
Lianne Schneider
Haven't even dared take my moon shots out of the camera - I know pretty much what I'll see...blurred dots! But this is really lovely my friend. Great capture. F/V
Joyce Dickens replied:
I am sure yours are wonderful Lianne; thank you for your awesome appreciation :-)
Jane Small
Joyce,this photo is so very stilling.The moon always fills me with wonder and this harvest moon has an added enchantment about it.Perfect against the purple darks of the sky and the softly silhouetted leaves. v/f
Joyce Dickens replied:
Jane thank you for the awesome appreciation my friend; thinking of you... :-)