The Full Corn Moon
The Moon reaches its full phase on Wednesday, September 2. Read on to learn why the Full Moon of September is called the Corn Moon, when to observe the fully-illuminated lunar disk, and what planets our natural satellite visits as it travels across the sky this week.
When to see the Full Moon in September 2020?
Having met two gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, on August 29, 2020, the Moon is going to reach its full phase. The Full Corn Moon will adorn the sky on September 2, 2020, at 5:22 GMT (01:22 a.m. EDT), shining among the stars of the constellation Aquarius. The skygazers worldwide will see the brilliant lunar disk in the eastern part of the sky at dusk. In the Northern Hemisphere, September’s Full Moon will be the last one to grace the sky this astronomical summer – the period between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox. For the Southern Hemisphere, it is an astronomical winter.
Check the exact times of the moonrise and moonset in the astronomical application Star Walk 2 to capture the September Moon at its biggest and brightest. Star Walk 2 will also provide you with the information on lunar phases and help you to find brilliant constellations and sparkling planets surrounding the bright Moon in the sky of the next few nights.
Why is it called the Corn Moon?
Traditionally, the Full Moon that happens closest to the autumn equinox is called the Harvest Moon and marks the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Typically, September provides it, but this year we will see the Harvest Moon shining in the October sky. Thus, September’s Moon takes the name of Corn Moon as it doesn’t fall closest to the autumn equinox in 2020. This name is associated with the time of harvesting corn in North America. Another name of the Full Moon occurring in September is Barley Moon, which is also related to the crops of this month.
Moon meets Mars and Uranus this week
According to the astronomer Chris Vaughan, from Wednesday night onward, the Moon will rise later and later and wane in phase. Every night, it will shift eastward through the constellations of Pisces and Cetus. On Saturday, September 5, 2020, stargazers will have an opportunity to see the waning gibbous Moon shining close to Mars. You can observe the astronomical duet through binoculars or a telescope at low magnification.
On Sunday, September 6, 2020, the Moon will be positioned next to blue-green Uranus. That magnitude 5.71 planet is usually visible in binoculars and backyard telescopes – if you know where to find it. The bright Moon will be too bright for dim-planet hunting, though. Note the positions of the stars in Cetus (below the Moon) and Aries (above Uranus), and use them to find Uranus on a night when the Moon isn’t nearby.
Follow our news to learn more about the Moon and the planets and not to miss the September equinox as well as the Harvest Moon of 2020.
