MOONCHILD: September Moods

September moods

There is something about September...
it feels a bit like overflow of water, running from a tap that hasn't been switched off...
New beginnings. Abundance in nature, plenty around and everywhere... and a feeling of richness...

In life, well, my life, at the moment, so much going on, lots of new things starting, starting off from a few things ending...

This month is the Harvest Moon month, or the • Full Corn Moon; This full moon’s name is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested.

Harvest Moon is the name of the Full Moon nearest the Autumn Equinox.

Here are some facts about the Moon at this time of the year, taken from a website.

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/harvest-moon-2

Everything you need to know: Autumnal equinox of 2011

It’s more than just a connection to the season of harvest. In fact, nature is particularly cooperative around the time of the autumn equinox to make the Harvest Moon unique.

Here’s what happens. On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. But when a full moon happens close to the autumnal equinox, the moon (at mid-temperate latitudes) rises only about 30 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full Harvest moon. Why? The reason is that the ecliptic – or path of the sun, moon and planets – makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon around the time of the autumn equinox. The narrow angle of the ecliptic results in a shorter-than-usual rising time between successive moonrises around the full Harvest Moon.

These early evening moonrises are what make every Harvest Moon special. Every full moon rises around sunset. After the full Harvest Moon, you’ll see the moon ascending in the east relatively soon after sunset for several days in a row. The lag time between successive moonrises shrinks to a yearly minimum, as described in the paragraph above. Because of this, it seems as if there are several full moons – for several nights in a row – around the time of the Harvest Moon.

Want to know the time of moonrise in your location? My favorite source of that information is this Custom Sunrise Sunset Calendar. Once you get to that page, be sure to click the box for ‘moon phases’ and ‘moonrise and moonset times.’

Is the Harvest Moon bigger, or brighter or more colorful?

Not necessarily, but the actual size of the Harvest Moon depends on the year. The Harvest Moon has the reputation of being especially big and bright and orange. But it isn’t really the Harvest Moon’s size or brightness that distinguishes it from other full moons. In fact, this year’s Harvest Moon counts as one of the smaller full moons of 2011.

Still, you might think otherwise. That’s because the Harvest Moon has such a powerful mystique. Many people look for it shortly after sunset around the time of full moon. After sunset around any full moon, the moon will always be near the horizon – it’ll just have risen. It’s the location of the moon near the horizon that causes the Harvest Moon – or any full moon – to look big and orange in color.

The orange color of a moon near the horizon is a true physical effect. It stems from the fact that – when you look toward the horizon – you are looking through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere than when you gaze up and overhead. The atmosphere scatters blue light – that’s why the sky looks blue. The greater thickness of atmosphere in the direction of a horizon scatters blue light most effectively, but it lets red light pass through to your eyes. So a moon near the horizon takes on a yellow or orange or reddish hue.

from

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/harvest-moon-2

http://earthsky.org/tonight/what-is-a-harvest-moon

The mood changes with the weather and the days drawing in, warmer clothes and rugs and blankets and new throws and
cushions...a sort of Autumn cleaning- similar to a Spring cleaning

I feel the connection with nature quite deeply and I am happy to see green spaces and gardens each day and notice the subtle changes...