New England

Don't Get Spooked by Our Friday the 13th Harvest Moon

The weather forecast in New England will be great for moon picture-taking and viewing

The harvest moon is set to rise at 7:10 p.m. on Friday, the 13th of September, but it will be somewhat smaller than it usually appears.

OK, technically, the moon won't officially be full until 12:33 a.m. Eastern time, which means it doesn't exactly land on Friday the 13th, but it's close.

This full moon is nicknamed the "harvest moon" because it's the full moon that comes closest to the autumnal equinox, the first day of astronomical fall (September 23rd). The nickname stems from the Native Americans who worked late into the night to finish harvesting their autumn crops.

This is the time of the year to harvest the corn crop, so this September full moon can also take the name "corn moon," if the October full moon falls closest to the equinox and takes the harvest name.

You have heard of the supermoon, but tonight's is the micromoon. This is when the point in the moon’s orbit is farthest away from earth, or what's known as the apogee.

The moon tonight will appear 14% smaller, and 30% dimmer, compared to a supermoon. The tides are also a little different, with a small decrease in the tide and are called apogean spring tides.

Our weather forecast will be great for moon picture-taking and viewing as we expect mostly clear skies Friday night.

It's pretty rare for a full moon to fall on Friday the 13th — it last happened on Oct. 13, 2000, and won't happen again until 2049, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

As for Friday the 13th, there's actually a name for the fear of it: paraskevidekatriaphobia. But no one really knows exactly why people are afraid of it.

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