Full Moon Date September 2024: How to see the Harvest Supermoon and how it got its name

We experience one full moon every month, with each one given a different evocative name.

Here's how to see the ninth one of 2024 - the Harvest Moon, which has the added bonus of being a Supermoon.

What is a full moon?

A full moon is when moon appears as a complete circle in the sky. The moon produces no light of its own, so this only happens when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun - meaning the whole of the near side of the moon is fully lit up.

When is the Harvest Moon in 2024?

The next full moon or ‘Harvest Moon’ will reach its peak on the full moon will appear at 7.28pm on Wednesday, September 18. This time only applies to the UK however as when the full moon rises and sets depends on where you are on the planet. Even if it’s cloudy when it peaks you'll still be able to see it for much of the night, when it will be almost imperceptibly less full moon.

What is a Harvest Moon?

The Harvest Moon is so-called because in the days before mechanised equipment farmers would use the extra light afforded by the September full moon to harvest grain crops. Due to this the September full moon is sometimes also called the Corn Moon or the Barley Moon.

Why do full moons have different names?

Full moon names are often attributed to Native American tribes that would give full moons nicknames to keep track of them as they didn’t record time using months found in the Julian or Gregorian calendar. Most of the names were linked to a specific event, for example this wolf moon is associated with the presence of howling wolves nearby their camps at this time.

Other moons like the blood moon were thought to be caused by Jaguars who attacked the moon and left it bleeding hence the red colour. These lunar systems and their names differed between tribes but it seems Colonial Americans adopted some of these names and incorporated them into their own calendar systems - their use then spread to other countries, including the United Kingdom.

What is s Supermoon?

A Supermoon is a phenomenon that occurs when the full moon or new moon coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth in its orbit, known as perigee. Because the moon is closer to Earth during this time, it appears larger and brighter than usual, hence the name. It means that the moon appears up to 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than when it’s at its furthest from Earth.

Here’s a full list of the remaining full moons in 2024:

October 17 - ‘Hunter’s Moon’

November 15 - ‘Beaver Moon’

December 15 - ‘Cold Moon’