Look up: ‘Full Harvest Supermoon’ visible later this week

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Grab your telescope! The fourth and final supermoon of the year will occur this Friday, and it is called the “Full Harvest Supermoon.”

The moon will rise Thursday evening and set as a full moon early Friday morning.

If you look up to the sky Thursday night, the moon will be in its full phase and will look about 30% brighter and 14% larger, although many of us won’t be able to tell with the naked eye.

So what exactly is a supermoon? It is a phenomenon whereby the moon appears particularly large in the sky owing to the coincidence of its closest approach to the earth with a full (or new) moon.

There have been three so far this year, and all of them have occurred since July; one in July, two in August, and the final coming up as we round out the month of September.

So you could say it’s been a summer full of supermoons.

Not only is it a supermoon, but it’s also called the ‘Harvest Moon,’ which happens every year.

It’s essentially the full moon that happens closes to the Autumnal Equinox, marking the end to the summer season.

The extra brightness of the moon is said to help farmers who are harvesting their crops later into the night.

Jupiter, Saturn and Venus will also be visible in the night sky.

So how is our weather going to be for viewing the last supermoon of the year?

Looks great here Thursday night and Friday night with a mostly clear sky and mild temperatures.

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