One of my favorite things about September is the big, bright moons. Seems like you can almost reach out and touch them.

Last night, we had a Corn Moon, named because it coincides with harvesting corn in much of the northern United States.

A Corn Moon symbolizes the time of harvest and gratitude, marking the end of summer and the transition into autumn. It encourages reflection on what has been grown in life, both physically and spiritually, and invites letting go of what no longer serves you.

There was also a total lunar eclipse in the middle of the day. Unfortunately, the moon was below our horizon in the United States, so we missed it.

But parts of Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, Antarctica, the western Pacific, and the Indian Ocean – around 85% of Earth’s population – were in the eclipse-viewing zone. During a total eclipse, the moon can turn a deep shade of red then it’s called a Blood Moon.

Here’s a Harvest Moon setting above the Statue of Liberty, taken by Nicholas Isabella (@NycStormChaser) on September 10, 2022.

The September 7 Corn Moon looks like a Harvest Moon, though it wasn’t called a harvest moon.

The Harvest Moon – the closest full moon to the autumn equinox – has a reputation for being bigger, brighter, and more yellow than other full moons. It’s not truly bigger, brighter, or more pumpkin-colored than other full moons. It just appears to be.

The reason: our moon normally rises on average 50 minutes later every day as the year moves on. A Harvest Moon rises only 30 minutes later. Those twenty minutes make a difference in how big the moon appears.

The name Harvest likely sprang from the lips of farmers who, in the days before tractor lights, used its light to gather their crops, despite the diminishing daylight hours. Then, as the light faded in the west, the moon would soon rise in the east to illuminate the fields throughout the night.

The recent Corn Moon was the third and final full moon of our Northern Hemisphere summer, which has three full moons between the June 21 solstice and September 22 equinox.

If you missed the Corn Moon, hang on because on October 6-7, a Harvest Moon will appear. Don’t miss that one.