September’s super Harvest Moon will peak on September 29 and be the last supermoon of the year

The last supermoon of 2023 will rise over Suffolk skies this week.

It has been given the name Harvest Moon to acknowledge its close proximity to the September Equinox – or start of autumn – now beginning in the northern hemisphere.

A supermoon occurs when the Moon is at its closest point in its orbit to the Earth at the same time that it becomes a full Moon, which makes it appear considerably bigger and brighter in the sky.

Every full Moon in the year is given a name, a system thought to have been first started by Native Americans, who used them to help them keep track of the changing seasons.

September’s Harvest Moon is sometimes also nicknamed the Barley Moon, because while also falling closest to the start of autumn, it is is also understood to have provided the light farmers needed to harvest their crops into the evening prior to the invention of electricity.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich calculates that the Harvest Moon will technically be at its peak late on Friday morning, September 29.

But stargazers and budding astronomers are therefore advised to use both Thursday night and Friday evening as opportunities to catch a glimpse of the full Moon – while autumnal weather conditions may also play their part in hampering people’s view.

While technically a full moon lasts only for an instant – which it’s at its absolute closest point to Earth - they can actually look the same size and shape for around three days before their changes become more noticeable.

Therefore, weather permitting, watchers should have until around Sunday to catch the final supermoon of the year if skies remain clear.