9/17/2024: Tonight, the full moon will illuminate the sky. This moon is also called the Harvest Moon. Traditionally, the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. The Hunter's Moon is the first full moon after the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon are special, because around this time, the time difference between sunset and moonrise is shorter than usual. Thus, there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise. This feature of these autumn moons was said to help farmers working to bring in their crops (or, in the case of the Hunter's Moon, hunters tracking their prey.) They could continue being productive by moonlight even after the sun had set. Often, the Harvest Moon seems to be bigger or brighter, or more colorful, than other moons. These effects have to do with the seasonal tilt of the earth. The warm color of the moon is caused by light from the moon passing through a greater amount of atmospheric particles than when the moon is overhead. This allows the reddish component of the light to penetrate better through the atmosphere. Hence all celestial bodies look reddish when they are low in the sky. The apparent larger size is because the brain perceives a low-hanging moon to be larger than one that's high in the sky. This is known as a "Moon Illusion" and it can be seen with any full moon.