Moonstruck

 

Once a year we are treated to a moonrise that outshines all others in drama and color- the harvest moon.  The "Hot Word"  section on Dictionary.com is something I like to check fairly often (geek alert) and it rarely disappoints.  The term harvest moon has an agricultural origin - it represents the additional moonlight the first full moon after the autumnal equinox provided farmers so they could continue to harvest crops after sunset. My favorite description of this moon is that of a celestial pumpkin.  http://hotword.dictionary.com/harvest-moon/

The Franklin Institute's Chief Astronomer (and stargazer extraordinaire) Derek Pitts reminds us that some planets are also in clear view during this moon phase, specifically Jupiter's dark spot is visible. 

http://whyy.org/cms/news/category/health-science/skytalk

While I defer to an astronomer (and dictionary)  to explain the logic of this event, I leave the heart of it where I am most comfortable - with a poet. Enjoy the sky show.

Under the Harvest Moon

by Carl Sandburg

When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers.

Under the summer roses
When the flagrant crimson
Lurks in the dusk
Of the wild red leaves,
Love, with little hands,
Comes and touches you
With a thousand memories,
And asks you
Beautiful, unanswerable questions.