The Final Supermoon of the Year Occurs Next Week—Here's How and When to See It

The Harvest Moon will light up the night sky at the end of September.

With fall on the horizon, supermoon summer is coming to an end soon. The final of the season's four full moons—the Harvest Moon—will reach its peak on Friday, September 29.

A full moon occurs when the moon hits the opposite side of Earth from the sun, according to EarthSky.org. A full supermoon happens when the full moon is at or near its closest point to Earth during its monthly orbit, causing the moon to look slightly larger and brighter than usual. The phenomenon is also referred to as a perigee.

How much bigger the moon looks depends on its exact distance from Earth, but it can be about 10 percent larger in size, Forbes reports. Astronomer Fred Espenak has created a table that provides the dates and distances for full supermoons until 2100. In 2023, there will be four full supermoons total.

Related: 10 Must-Haves for a Night of Stargazing

The Harvest Moon will be visible on Thursday, September 28—but is best viewed in the East at moonrise on Friday, September 29. This month's full moon is called the Harvest Moon because it's the closest full moon to the September equinox. This is around the time when many crops in the northern hemisphere reach their peak and the full moon provides a few days of bright moonlight, which traditionally gave farmers more time to bring in their crops before the first frost, according to NASA.

September's full moon marks the conclusion of supermoon summer, which first kicked off in July with the Buck Moon. In August there were two supermoons, the first being August's Sturgeon Moon, which lit up the night sky on August 1. Many stargazers, including Martha, were particularly excited about this moon's unique orange glow.

Martha even took to social media to share her excitement about the celestial event. "Four am this morning. The super sturgeon moon woke me with its brilliance," she wrote in an Instagram post. "So beautiful!!! This is the year of super moons!!! Aug 1 is the real true full moon I will try to capture a better photo."

But perhaps the most impressive supermoon of the season occurred on August 30 and August 31. The Blue Moon, which is the term for when a full moon occurs twice in a single month, was the largest and closet supermoon of the summer and won't be seen again for 14 years.

If you weren't able to catch the past three supermoons, you won't want to miss the Harvest Moon. To view the celestial phenomenon, choose a location away from city lights and plan to give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the dark.

Read the original article on Martha Stewart.