The last full moon of the summer will rise Friday

This is a big weekend for outer space. On Friday, the annual Harvest Moon — the full moon that occurs closest to the official start of fall — will rise, and this year it's bringing with it a penumbral eclipse. While the effect won't be quite as dramatic as a full lunar eclipse, the moon will "appear darker as it slips into the edge of Earth's shadow," Smithsonian explained. Friday's eclipse will mark the "fourth and final" of the year, Sky & Telescope reported, and scientists predict there won't be another Harvest Moon eclipse until 2024. Unfortunately for those of us in the U.S., however, the eclipse will only be visible in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
As if that weren't enough extraterrestrial excitement, this year's Harvest Moon could also be a supermoon, which The Washington Post explained occurs when the moon "is within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit." Astrophysicists don't agree on whether this year's Harvest Moon qualifies, but if it does occur, the moon will appear somewhat bigger in the sky than it usually does.
The moon is expected to reach peak fullness in the sky at 3:05 p.m. ET. In New York, sunset is at 7:03 p.m. ET, and the Harvest Moon will rise at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues
-
Trump drops ceasefire demand after Putin call
speed read Following a phone call with Russia's president, Trump backed off an earlier demand that Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine
-
Pro-EU centrist beats Trump acolyte in Romania vote
speed read The mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, defeated hard-right nationalist George Simion in the race for Romania's presidency
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talks
speed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
US, China agree to lower tariffs for 90 days
speed read US tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on US imports to 10% from 125%
-
India strikes Pakistan as tensions mount in Kashmir
speed read Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called it an 'act of war'
-
Israel approves plan to take over Gaza indefinitely
speed read Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is 'on the eve of a forceful entry'