The full Harvest supermoon is happening tonight!
This is the fourth consecutive supermoon we’ve had in 2023 — and we’ll do it again next year too, for the full moons from August through November, according to earthsky.org.
A full moon occurs when the moon's monthly orbit puts it on the opposite side of Earth from the sun. A full supermoon happens when the full moon takes place at — or near — the time the moon is closest to us in its elliptical orbit.
That means supermoons look brighter and sometimes bigger than ordinary full moons.
The Harvest Moon gets its name from being the full moon closest to the fall equinox, which took place on Sept. 23. That’s why the harvest moon can sometimes fall in October.
Clouds vs. supermoon over Boston Thursday-Friday
The moon will start to rise at 6:24 p.m. Thursday night, reaching peak illumination just before 6 a.m. Friday, and then setting just a short time after that — 6:41 a.m.
The only wrinkle to keep in mind for seeing the moon is that we'll need our cloud cover forecast to cooperate.
We’ve had some passing clouds Thursday and that will continue through the evening, but will actually add some beautiful decoration to the sky as the moon rises.
After midnight, clouds will continue to increase and thicken and, by pre-dawn Friday, clouds will be the dominant feature in the sky.
Bottom line: If you want to catch a glimpse of the full Harvest supermoon, Thursday evening is your best bet.
And if you snap a picture, send it along to shareit@nbcboston.com!
