A Rare Friday the 13th Full Moon

The full moon in September closest to the Autumnal Equinox falls on Friday the 13th in North America. But in Israel it falls on Saturday September 14th at 7:33 AM. Lucky us! This full moon is known as the Harvest Moon. Instead of rising about 45 minutes later every night as it usually does, it rises about the same time every night for the next 3 nights, just as the sun sets. The bright full moon thus allows farmers to continue their fall harvest after dark. Hence its name, “The Harvest Moon”. It should be a lovely sight. Go outside and watch it rise in the east about 6:45PM IDT.

The last Friday the 13th full moon in North America fell in October 2000. The next w. ill fall in August 2049. 

This is also an Apogee full moon, occurring when the moon is the greatest distance from earth, or at Apogee. In Internet times this Perigee full moon has been dubbed a "Supermoon". Our Apogee full moo in September I guess should be called a "Minimoon".  It should look a little smaller than a regular full moon, but still plenty bright. People are sometimes surprised at just how bright the full moon is. Go outside in the dark and see for yourself.