Final supermoon of 2023: Harvest Moon to rise across B.C. skies this week

The year’s last supermoon will be shining brightly overhead later this week across British Columbia — if clouds don’t get in the way, that is.

According to the Farmers Almanac, September’s full moon will reach peak illumination early Friday, at 2:28 a.m., though it will be very visible Thursday night.

However, grey skies could spoil viewing the Full Harvest Moon – the fourth supermoon in a row this year.

In Vancouver, the evening forecast is calling for cloudy periods on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

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It’s almost the same in Victoria, though clear skies are projected for both Friday night and Saturday night.

Across the Southern Interior, from the Okanagan to the Kootenays, Thursday night’s forecast will see clouds and a 60 to 70 per cent chance of showers, with cloudy periods Friday and Saturday.

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In the Cariboo and Prince George regions, Thursday will see cloudy periods and a chance of showers, with clear skies on Friday night.

It’s hoped that an upper ridge of high pressure will build on Friday, giving a drying trend and more breaks in the skies.

September’s full moon, like every other full moon, has a multitude of names, including full corn moon and barley moon, while October’s full moon is known as the hunter’s moon, but is also called the ice moon and freezing moon.

A supermoon occurs when a full moon is also at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.

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The moon’s nearest point in its orbit is called the perigee (around 363,000 kilometres), while the farthest point is called the apogee (405,000 km). The distance between those two points is around 42,000 km.

At its nearest point and while it’s full, the moon appears to be brighter and larger than a regular full moon.

In July, the Buck Supermoon occurred on July 2-3. Last month, there were two supermoons: the Full Sturgeon Moon on Aug. 1, then the Blue Moon on Aug. 30.

A Blue Moon generally refers to a second full moon within the same calendar month.

The last time there were two supermoons in a month was in 2018. The next time will be January 2037.

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