
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, September 20, bringing plenty of bright moonlight, and the harvest moon shine in the night sky tonight. According to the Farmers Almanac in 2021, the Harvest Moon rises on Monday, September 20! The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Sunday morning through Tuesday morning.
For a short period beginning about 30 minutes after sunset (after 7:38 p.m. EDT) on Monday evening, Sept. 20, 2021, if you have a clear view of the west-southwestern horizon, you might be able to see the planet Mercury about 2 degrees above the horizon and about 1.5 degrees below the bright star Spica. Mercury will set first about 14 minutes later (at 7:52 p.m.). Because dusk will still be in the sky it may be hard to see Spica without binoculars or a telescope. This and the next evening will be the two evenings when the planet Mercury and the star Spica will appear at their closest to each other.
The full Moon after next will be Monday evening, Sept. 20, 2021, at 7:55 p.m. EDT. The Moon will appear full for about 3 days around this time, from Sunday evening through Wednesday morning.
This results in an abundance of bright moonlight early in the evening, which was a traditional aide to farmers and crews harvesting their summer-grown crops. Hence, it’s called the “Harvest” Moon!
Whew…the rock was not damaged