The Harvest Moon in 2027: date, time and why it has that name
The next Harvest Moon, the full Moon closest to the September equinox, is on .
It falls 7 days before the September equinox of , the closest full Moon to it.
Next three
The next three Harvest Moon dates
- 399,341 km
- 405,146 km
- 402,356 km
The name
Why it is called the Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon is the one almanac name set by the sky instead of by a month: it is the full Moon nearest the September equinox. In the farm calendar that is harvest time, and the Moon's habit of rising at nearly the same hour on successive nights gave farmers extra light to work by after sunset.
Most years it is September's full Moon. When the nearest full Moon is the first of October, September's full Moon is called the Corn Moon. The Anglo-Saxon month list gives Halig Moon for September, and the modern revival list calls it the Singing Moon, using the name Harvest Moon for October's full Moon instead.
The equinox falls on September 22 or 23, and the nearest full Moon can sit up to two weeks either side of it. Between 1900 and 2100 the Harvest Moon landed as early as September 8 and as late as October 8. It next falls in October in 2028.
- Usually in
- September
- Next full
- Distance then
- 399,341 km
- Supermoon then
- No
- Next three
- Sep 15, 2027 · Oct 3, 2028 · Sep 22, 2029
In the sky
How the Harvest Moon looks
A full Moon rises about 50 minutes later each night on average. Near the September equinox, for people at mid-northern latitudes, the Moon's path meets the eastern horizon at a shallow angle, so the Moon slides along the horizon as it climbs instead of rising straight up. That holds the delay to about 30 minutes, and the Moon comes up at nearly the same hour for several nights in a row. The farther north you live, the smaller the delay.
The Harvest Moon rises close to due east at sunset. Low in the east it looks large and orange; the size is an illusion of comparison with trees and fields, and the color comes from a long path through air, which scatters out the blue. At 40 degrees north it peaks about 50 degrees up around midnight.
Harvest Moon is a northern name tied to the September equinox, which opens spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The shallow-angle effect that bunches moonrises together appears there around the March equinox instead, when the full Moon nearest it rises at nearly the same time on successive evenings.
- Northern Hemisphere
- The Moon rises in the east near sunset
- Southern Hemisphere
- The same Moon, markings turned upside down
- Colour
- Gold near the horizon, white once it climbs
- Rises
- Around sunset
- Sets
- Around sunrise
Questions people ask
Quick answers
When is the next Harvest Moon?
September 15, 2027 (UTC). The cards above show the next three, in your time zone.
Why is it called the Harvest Moon?
Harvest Moon is the one almanac name set by the sky instead of by a month: it is the full Moon nearest the September equinox. In the farm calendar that is harvest time, and the Moon's habit of rising at nearly the same hour on successive nights gave farmers extra light to work by after sunset.
Is the Harvest Moon a supermoon?
Not the next one: the Moon is 399,341 km away, farther than 361,400 km. Some years it is.
Does the Harvest Moon change colour?
The Moon only looks gold or orange when it is low and its light crosses a lot of air. Higher up it looks white.
Is this name the same everywhere?
No. These are the US almanac names. Other regions and traditions name the same full Moons differently, and the names are not one single tradition.