[missyme]

SO then how do we know it's a Harvest Moon?

[ApplegateRanch]

SO then how do we know it's a Harvest Moon?

Check your FReep mail; you'll find a list of all of them, and an explaination of them

[ngc6656]

SO then how do we know it's a Harvest Moon?

As someone posted earlier, it is the full moon following the first day of autumn.

An approximate rule is, each year it is the full moon occurring anywhere in the period between September 22 and October 21.

The rule is approximate because a year is 365.24 days long and that fractional day causes the first day of autumn to move around a little on the calendar in a four year cycle.

[SlowBoat407]

SO then how do we know it's a Harvest Moon?

Nothing to do with appearance (except for that whole big, round, full business). it's everything to do with timing. this is the first full moon after the first day of Autumn, hence, the Harvest Moon.

[Denver Ditdat]

The term "Harvest Moon" doesn't have any links to color. It is just the first full moon to occur after the beginning of autumn, so by definition we have a Harvest Moon every year. It was a welcome source of light to farmers working to bring in the crops in the days when artificial light meant candles or oil lamps. Since a full moon rises at sunset, it effectively extended the hours in which they had sufficient light to work in the fields.

That's it. Nothing mysterious or unusual about it at all.