The September 2018 full moon is coming this week. Here's when to see the harvest moon.

Posted September 23, 2018 at 07:45 AM | Updated September 23, 2018 at 07:46 AM

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The full moon of September 2018, known as the "harvest moon," will be shining in the night sky on Monday, Sept. 24, but will be nearly full on Sunday, Sept. 23. (Shutterstock)

By Len Melisurgo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The September 2018 full moon, commonly known by the nickname “harvest moon” because of the harvest season for corn and other crops, will be glowing in the night sky on Monday, Sept. 24, just two days after the official start of fall, when the autumn equinox occurred.

Just like the August full moon, this month’s full moon will not be a special one. It’s not one of this year’s supermoons, nor is it a blue moon or a lunar eclipse blood moon. It’s simply an ordinary full moon.

However, as the astronomy website EarthSky.org notes: “These autumn full moons do have special characteristics, related to the time of the moonrise. Nature is particularly cooperative in giving us full-looking moons near the horizon after sunset, for several evenings in a row, around the time of the harvest moon.”

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The September full moon has several names, but the main one is the "harvest moon" when it appears close to the date of the autumn equinox. (Pixabay)

The September harvest moon will start to rise in the eastern sky at about 7 p.m. Monday in New York City, but it won’t be officially at its fullest phase until 10:53 p.m. that night. Regardless, the moon will look almost completely full as it is rising.

Assuming skies are clear, the moon should also look big and bright as it moves across the sky on Sunday night and when it sets on Monday morning, then again on Tuesday morning as it sets and Tuesday night as it rises.

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The full moon of September 2018, known as the "harvest moon," will be shining in the night sky on Monday, Sept. 24, but will be nearly full on Sunday, Sept. 23. (Shutterstock)

The Old Farmer’s Almanac says the nickname “harvest moon” refers to the harvesting of crops in September in North America, particularly corn and barley, noting: “Around the harvest moon, the moonrise happens soon after sunset for several evenings in a row, which traditionally allowed farmers to have much more light to finish their harvest.”

According to EarthSky.com, the “harvest moon” nickname got popular in the early 1900s because of music. A song called “Shine On, Harvest Moon" was penned in 1908 by vaudeville stars Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. It later was recorded by many different singers, including Ruth Etting in 1931, Kate Smith in 1933, The Four Acres in 1955, and Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney in 1960, according to BING magazine.

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