The Full Moon nearest our Autumn equinox (a “Harvest Moon” - not to be confused with the Neil Young early 1990′s album of the same name) is yellow so that the farmers back in the day would have more light for bringing their last crops before Winter. 

As you’re probably already aware, all Full Moons rise around Sunset, therefore there is no long, dark period before we see them. The main difference between your “Harvest” moon and a regular, run-of-the-mill Full Moon is the time of day between subsequent nightly risings.

Moon risings after an “ordinary” Full Moon are supposedly 50 minutes later each night, but only 30 minutes later each night after our Moon in question. So my original paragraph was only half tongue-in-cheek & has roots in folklore; but Copernicus says it is not the reason “why” and that it’s Earth’s narrower angle of orbit around the Sun (ecliptic) at that time of year that make for the earlier moons that follow this one.

It has been said that this moon is no bigger, brighter or yellower than any other Full Moon, but this is just when people want to notice it. We can compare our upcoming Full Moons to check the validity of that statement by using the table of dates included at the end of this post.

Also of note would be that none of the above applies to peoples of the Southern Hemisphere who experience these Moons during our Spring and it’s difficult to Harvest so soon after a snow. They must get a “Planters Moon”.

————
Got Moon?
————

I was absolutely blown away by the size of the last Full Moon when it was breaking over the horizon! It seemed to be rivaling for attention against the morning Sunrise.

When la Luna (or any celestial body for that fact) is close to the horizon, we are looking at it through more of our own atmosphere (and consequently more particles) than when it is closer to the meridian. Our atmosphere deflects the bluish-white portion of the light before it can get to our retina while the reddish frequencies of the spectrum get through. It short: It’s our perception.

The Moon may apparently be the largest object in our night sky, but due to Venus’ closer proximity to our Day Star and her permanent layer of sulfuric acid cloud-cover reflecting 60% of the Suns light back into space, I would have to say that she is the brightest object in our night sky. Also, since Celena is so high when I look out my back door around this time, Venus is the first celestial object I lay eyes on, but once in a Blue Moon I’ll catch Orion.

When you take into consideration that earlier cultures didn’t have the trappings of “progress” (i.e. television, radio, McDonalds, etc) that our “more advanced” cultures have today, it becomes evident why they were more in tune with their surroundings than we are – as a people. I mean, if they went out for fast food, it only meant that they might not catch anything & come back hungry.

If we weren’t able to communicate ideas through the rapid switching of these electrons, we might very well be outside on our front stoop in Chichen Itza enjoying a celestial matinee.

It’s my understanding that according to Mayan knowledge (and the Sacred Round of Katuns), our course of rotation with respect to the stars rather than with respect to the Sun (aka: sidereal space), will bring us to a populated zone with many asteroids and other objects influencing our gravitational field. Considering the cosmic circumstances which we lack active conscious awareness (i.e. the effect of the Moon on the oceans, the Sun switching magnetic poles every 11 years, etc), these celestial bodies could produce oscillations in many levels that could move Earth’s magnetic field again and shift tectonic plates. Their belief of “the end of the world as we know it” is purported to be based more on logic than religion. See also: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast15feb_1.htm

Mayans seemed to have a circular relationship with time while the Western tradition is horizontal or linear and they understood that seasonal factors fall within the rules of the Universe and could study the Zenithal passages of the Sun due to their position in relation to the ecliptic. Unfortunately, early Christian conquerors destroyed most of the ancient records of this native American culture.

I remember all too well while growing up that my father would – on what seemed like a regular basis – point out planets crossing the daytime sky. “That’s Venus“, he would say as he was pointing; or another time, “There’s Mercury” all-the-while explaining that their orbits around the Sun are smaller than ours. I was more amazed at the time that he was able to tell a planet from a star with his naked eye than the fact that we’d be looking at such things during daylight.

Conjunctions occur when two or more celestial bodies are visible near one another in the sky at the same time and soon five, yes FIVE, planets should be visible to us at the same time this February 17th. You can read about the particulars and times at:  http://www.earthsky.org/radioshows/52944/five-planets-visible-in-february-2009

Also of note is a more specific and much more rare conjunctive event when Venus transits in front of our visible path of the Sun in June 2012. More information on this occurrence can be found at: http://TransitOfVenus.org