Spectacular Harvest Moon appears in October sky for first time since 2009

Skywatchers were treated to the spectacular celestial sight of an October Harvest Moon shining brightly last night for the first time in almost a decade.

The full Moon, observable to anyone in the northern hemisphere, was clearly visible across much of the UK thanks to largely clear skies.

Normally the Harvest Moon, the name given to the first full Moon rising closest to the autumnal equinox, occurs before the equinox on September 22.

However this year, the Harvest Moon, which is said to symbolise when farmers would need to start gathering crops to prepare for the lean winter months, is happening in October.

Pete Lawrence, The Telegraph’s Night Sky columnist, explains: “The reason why the Harvest Moon sometimes occurs in October is purely down to timing.

“The Moon's phase cycle defines the synodic month - basically the time it takes to go from one phase, through all the other phases and back to that same phase, i.e. the interval from one full Moon to the next full Moon.”

“The long term average length of a synodic month is 29.53 days. So if you started with a full Moon at the start of 1 January, the next full Moon would occur half way through 30 January and the next 29.5 days after this. This means that the dates of full Moons varies over the years. 

He added: “The Harvest Moon is the full Moon which occurs nearest to the Northern Hemisphere's autumn equinox around 22 September.

“So if the timing is such that the September full Moon occurs further away in time from the equinox than the subsequent one in October, the October full Moon takes the title as the Harvest Moon for that year.”

So how rare is a Harvest Moon in October?

Space.com says a Harvest Moon appearing in October will happen 18 times between 1970 and 2050.

“On average, October Harvest Moons come every three years, although the time frame can be quite variable and as many as eight years can elapse between these events,” they say.

Ernie Wright, a data visualizer at Nasa, told National Geographic the probability of an October Harvest Moon is around one in four.

Does the Harvest Moon affect the climate?

“The Moon always affects the tides, pulling on the sea creating low and high tides, but it won't affect it anymore than usual,” explains UK Astronomy’s Ross Hockham.

“It might affect climate, but not on the time scale of a month, and does not significantly affect the weather.

“The fact that the Moon exists may significantly stabilise the inclination of the Earth relative to the Sun. “This, in turn, affects climate in the long run.”

While Mr Lawrence adds: “The Harvest Moon is the full Moon nearest to the autumn equinox and a syzygial equinoctal high tide should be higher than others, especially at the equator. An equinoctal high tide is a high tide that occurs close to, or at the equinox.

“However, this doesn't make it special unless the Sun, Earth and Moon are in a line. The astronomical term for three bodies in a line is syzygy.

“So if a full or new Moon occurs close to the equinox, then yes, the tides should be slightly higher than at other times. I believe this would be more noticeable at the equator.”

A spectacular sight

One striking timelapse image by astrophotographer Alyn Wallace captured the path of the International Space Station crossing the Moon as viewed from the Brecon Beacons, Wales.

Other dramatics shots captured the full harvest Moon rising over the White Windmill in Lytham St Annes, in Lancashire, and shining brightly over London Bridge.

When will the next October Harvest Moon be?

“ The last October Harvest Moon was in 2009, on 4 October. The next one occurs on 1 October, 2020,” explains Mr Lawrence.

What conditions do you need?

“Gazers will be looking for clear, cloudless skies to have the best possible chance of seeing the Harvest Moon; ideally a location away from light pollution will be of benefit,” say the Met Office.

Where does the name come from?

It was during September that most of the crops were harvested. This Moon also gave light to farmers working through the night. Some tribes also called it the Barley Moon.

Last year, this incredible photo of the Milky Way was captured from the Isle of Wight.