09/24/2010 Equinox and the Harvest Moon
I have never seen the moon shining as brightly as it is in this photo, which captures the recent harvest moon over a defunct church in Hungary. The harvest moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox, and it got its name because before electricity was invented, it shone from dusk till dawn, giving farmers the light needed to tend to their harvest past sunset. It would be interesting to live in such a time, just to see what it's like to notice such astronomical phenomena on my own and have them play a significant role in life, rather than having to check a calender and try to go out and see it, only to get home too late and find that I'd missed it :( For the first time in 20 years, autumn began on the night of a full moon, which is pretty amazing. I also find it amazing that Uranus AND Jupiter both reached opposition only a few days earlier. This is a month of considerable "gravity" for the astronomical community.
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