Across Canada, the moon will shine bright and perhaps orange or blood-red Thursday night. This year’s harvest moon should loom large and low on the horizon as long as the skies are clear.
According to EarthSky, the harvest moon will peak during daytime hours in North America, at 2:40 p.m. ET. But the full-looking moon will still be visible throughout the night Thursday and just before dawn on Friday.
The harvest moon – made famous in the classic Neil Young song --- is the closest full moon to the autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.
It appears larger because of its proximity to the horizon and its orange and reddish hues are a product of light scattering through the maximum thickness of the Earth’s atmosphere.
If you have access to a telescope or a good pair of binoculars, experts say you can see more of the moon’s striking surface features during the harvest moon phase.
