- The Full Harvest Moon in Pisces will occur on September 20, 2021.
- You’re urged to follow your instincts and consider your words under the influence of this full moon.
- All zodiac signs are impacted by the moon, but Virgo and Pisces will experience it the most.
In This Article...
The September full moon is in what sign?
The Pisces full moon is the one that is most likely to make people cry. The water sign of Pisces is incredibly insightful and imaginative. With such an artistic temperament, they are however prone to depression, which full moons can bring out in all of us. Use this moon to indulge in self-soothing activities since you might feel particularly sensitive. Examples include receiving a massage or taking a long, hot bath or shower, preferably with entertaining bath bombs, salts, and possibly even a water-proof sex toy. This evening, pay attention to your dreams since Pisces energy awakens everyone’s psychic abilities.
How can I determine the moon of my sign?
Finding your moon sign is a little trickier than finding your sun sign, which can be done by using the date of your birth.
Your exact date, time, and place of birth are used to calculate your lunar sign, as well as your position in relation to the moon.
It travels fast through the zodiac, spending roughly two to two and a half days in each sign.
Your moon sign is probably different from your sun sign; for example, you may be a Taurus while having a lunar sign in Sagittarius.
When is the September 2021 full moon?
Two days before the fall equinox, on Monday, September 20, soon after sunset, watch for this year’s full Harvest Moon to rise in the southeast! On the 20th, at 7:54 PM Eastern Time, the full Moon is at its brightest.
September 2021’s full moon falls on what planet?
This full Moon coincides with the beginning of the seven-day Sukkoth holiday in the Hebrew calendar. The Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of the Ingathering are other names for Sukkoth. This celebration has roots to both a harvest feast described in the Book of Exodus and the protection provided for the Israelites throughout their 40 years in the wilderness, according to the Book of Leviticus. For this festival, a makeshift cabin resembling a forest shelter is frequently constructed, serving as the family’s dining, sleeping, and gathering place. Sukkoth will begin at sunset on Monday, September 20, and end at sunset on Monday, September 27, in the year 2021.
This full Moon coincides with the Mid-Autumn Celebration, a traditional harvest festival, in China, Vietnam, and some other Asian nations. This celebration is also known as the Moon Festival, the Mooncake Festival, and the Reunion Festival in China (with wives in China visiting their parents, then returning to celebrate with their husbands and his parents). Offerings to the Moon Goddess Chang’e are included in the celebration (the name the China National Space Agency gives their lunar missions). This full Moon coincides with Chuseok, a harvest festival in Korea when people leave the cities to visit their ancestral homes and pay respect to the ghosts of their ancestors.
The first of Japan’s two Tsukimi, or “Moon-Viewing,” festivals falls on the same day as this full Moon. This Moon is also known as Imo Meigetsu because it is customary to serve sweet potatoes during the full Moon (which translates as “Potato Harvest Moon”). The celebrations surrounding the full Moon have grown to be so popular that they frequently last for several days after the full Moon. The second Moon-Viewing Festival honors the viewing of the waxing gibbous Moon a few days before it is full, and it takes place on the 13th day of the next lunar month.
The Pitri (or Pitru) Paksha (fortnight of the ancestors), during which Hindus pay respect to their ancestors, especially through food offerings, begins on this full Moon. In the lunar month of Bhadrapada, Pitri Paksha begins with the full Moon and concludes with the new moon.
According to a myth, an elephant and a monkey fed the Buddha while he was in the forest to bring peace between two factions, with the elephant offering fruit and the monkey offering a honeycomb. This full moon is known to some Buddhists in Bangladesh and Thailand as Madhu Purnima, the Honey Full Moon Festival or the Honey-offering Festival.
This full moon in Sri Lanka marks the Binara Pura Pasalosvaka Poya Day, which honors the founding of the Buddhist Bhikkhun Order.
Full Moons occur in the midst of lunar months in many conventional lunisolar calendars. The eighth month of the Chinese calendar is in the middle of this full Moon. The first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon soon after the New Moon marks the beginning of each month according to the Islamic calendar. Near the midpoint of Safar, the second month of the Islamic calendar, is this full Moon.
The GRAIL Moon and the LADEE Moon are two more recent names for this full Moon, honoring two lunar robotic projects that were launched in September. The Delta II launch vehicle carried the identical Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft as they began their journey toward the Moon on September 10, 2011. On September 6, 2013, a Minotaur V launch vehicle launched the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) satellite on its way to the Moon.
As always, it is recommended that you celebrate the full Moon by dressing appropriately. Additionally, you might want to think about going camping with your family, visiting your hometown, parents, and in-laws, eating a mooncake, and celebrating the harvest.
Here is a summary of other celestial events between now and the full Moon after next (with times and angles based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington):
The equinox on September 22, 2021, will mark the beginning of the shortest day of the year as summer finishes and autumn begins. On September 20, the day of the following full Moon, morning twilight will start at 5:56 in the morning, sunrise will be at 6:54 in the morning, solar noon will be at 1:01:22 in the afternoon, when the Sun will reach its highest altitude of 51.94 degrees, sunset will be at 7:08 in the evening, and evening twilight will end at 8:06 in the evening.
On the day of the autumnal equinox, two days later
On Wednesday, September 22, 2021, solar noon will occur at 1:00:39 p.m., when the Sun will reach its highest altitude of 51.17 degrees, morning twilight will start at 5:58 a.m., sunrise will be at 6:56 a.m., sunset will be at 7:05 p.m., and evening twilight will conclude at 8:02 p.m. The day of the full Moon will fall on Wednesday, October 20, after morning darkness ends at 6:25 a.m., dawn occurs at 7:23 a.m., solar noon occurs at 12:52:45 p.m., when the Sun reaches its highest altitude of 40.55 degrees, sunset occurs at 6:22 p.m., and evening twilight concludes at 7:20 p.m.
Jupiter and Saturn should be visible during the next months, especially through a backyard telescope. Jupiter was closest to Earth and brightest on August 19 while Saturn was closest and brightest on August 2 for the year (called “opposition” because they were opposite the Earth from the Sun). Both will appear to move toward the west during the upcoming months while still remaining quite bright, making them visible earlier in the evening sky (and friendlier for backyard stargazing, especially if you have young ones with earlier bedtimes). You should be able to observe Jupiter’s four brilliant moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io, as they change positions over the course of an evening with clear sky and a telescope. You should be able to view Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, as well as its rings.
Due to interference from the full Moon, 2021 won’t be an excellent year to view the Orionid Meteor Shower. This shower is anticipated to be active from October 2 to November 7, 2021, peaking on October 21 in the morning (the day after the full Moon after the next).
Evening Sky Summary
The brightest planet will be Venus, which will be visible on the evening of Monday, September 20, 2021, the day of the full Moon, as evening twilight ends at 8:06 p.m. Venus will be seen as the Evening Star, which will be located 7 degrees above the horizon in the west-southwest. Jupiter, which will be 24 degrees above the horizon in the southeast, will be the next brightest planet. Saturn, which will be 27 degrees above the horizon in the south-southeast, will be the faintest planet to be seen in the sky. By the time evening twilight ends, Mercury will have set, although you may be able to view it low in the west-southwest for about 30 minutes after sunset (7:38 p.m.) until Mercury sets 14 minutes later (at 7:52 p.m.). Vega, which will be seen 86 degrees above the western horizon, will be the bright star that is closest to overhead. The brightest of the three stars in the Summer Triangle, Vega is the fifth-brightest star in our night sky. Vega is around 25 light-years away, twice as big as our Sun, and 40 times brighter.
Each evening, Jupiter, Saturn, and the background of stars will appear to move toward the west as the lunar cycle proceeds (although it is actually the Earth that is moving around the Sun toward the east). Each evening in the southwest, the brilliant planet Venus will appear to move to the left along the horizon as it crosses the waxing crescent Moon on October 9 and the bright star Antares on October 16, 2021. Even though Mercury will have set by the time evening twilight ends, it may still be visible for approximately a week in the low west-southwestern horizon glow of dusk (try looking about 30 minutes after sunset). On October 9, Mercury will move from the evening to the morning sky as it passes between the Earth and the Sun.
The brightest planet will be Venus by the time evening twilight ends at 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, the day of the following full Moon. Venus will be 10 degrees above the horizon in the southwest. Jupiter, which will be 32 degrees above the horizon in the south-southeast, will be the next brightest planet. Saturn, which will be 31 degrees above the southern horizon, will be the faintest planet to be seen in the sky. Deneb, which will be seen 81 degrees above the northeastern horizon, will be the bright star that is closest to above. Deneb, the 19th brightest star in our night sky, is 2,600 light-years away from Earth.
Morning Sky Summary
No visible planets will be visible in the sky on the morning of Monday, September 20, 2021the day of the full Moonas morning darkness begins at 5:56 a.m. EDT. The bright stars of our home galaxy’s local arm, including the constellation Orion, will be visible high in the south-southeast sky. Capella, which is located 81 degrees above the northeastern horizon, will be the bright star that will appear closest to directly overhead. Although humans perceive Capella as a single star, it is actually the combined light of four stars, making it the sixth brightest star in our night sky (two pairs of stars orbiting each other). About 43 light years separate us from Capella.
The background of stars will appear to move toward the west as the lunar cycle continues. Mercury will start to emerge from the dawn glow on or around October 13 and will be visible low on the eastern horizon until about 30 minutes before sunrise. Mercury will be above the horizon as morning twilight starts after October 16. When morning twilight starts at 6:25 a.m. EDT on Oct. 20the day of the full Moon the day afterMercury will be the only planet in the sky that can be seen. It will be located around 5 degrees above the eastern horizon. From the south-southeast to the west-northwest, the bright stars of our home galaxy’s local arm, including the constellation Orion, will seem dispersed over the sky. Pollux, which is located 77 degrees above the southeast horizon, will be the bright star that will look closest to directly overhead. The brighter of the twin stars in the Gemini constellation, Pollux is 34 light-years away from Earth.
September 16-18
Saturn will be visible on Thursday night into Friday morning, September 16 to 17, 2021, at a distance of around 5 degrees from the waxing gibbous Moon. As the night goes on, Saturn will move clockwise around the Moon. Saturn will be visible to the top left of the Moon as evening twilight ends at 8:12 p.m. EDT. About two hours later, at 10:02 p.m., the Moon will be at its highest point for the night, and Saturn will be visible above it. Saturn will be visible to the right and somewhat above the Moon when it sets in the west-southwest on Friday at 2:54 a.m.
The bright planet Jupiter will be seen close to the waxing gibbous Moon on Friday night into Saturday morning, September 17 to 18, 2021. As the night goes on, Jupiter will appear to rotate clockwise around the Moon. At 8:11 p.m. EDT, when evening twilight ends, Jupiter will be visible roughly 7 degrees to the left of the Moon. Jupiter will be visible around 6 degrees above and to the left of the Moon at 10:56 p.m., when the Moon reaches its greatest point in the sky for the night. Jupiter will be visible 4 degrees to the upper right of the Moon by the time it sets in the west-southwest (Saturday at 4:04 a.m.).
September 20: The Next Full Moon
If you have a clean view of the west-southwestern horizon on Monday, September 20, 2021, during a brief period starting approximately 30 minutes after sunset after 7:38 p.m. EDT, you might be able to see the planet Mercury about 2 degrees above the horizon and about 1.5 degrees below the bright star Spica. About 14 minutes later, Mercury will set first (at 7:52 p.m.). Without binoculars or a telescope, Spica can be difficult to spot because dusk will still be visible in the sky. The two evenings when the planet Mercury and the star Spica will be closest to one another are this and the following one.
The following full Moon will occur on Monday evening, September 20, 2021, at 7:55 p.m. EDT. Around this time, from Sunday evening to Wednesday morning, the Moon will be full for about three days.
September 27
The planet Mercury will no longer be visible above the horizon thirty minutes after sunset on Monday, September 27, 2021. (an approximation of the last evening Mercury will be visible in the glow of dusk).
September 28
The waning Moon will seem half-full as it enters its final quarter at 9:57 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, September 28, 2021. The last quarter Moon won’t be visible to us until it rises later that night at 11:34 p.m. (from the Washington, D.C. region).
October 6
The new Moon, when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is not visible from the Earth, will occur on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, at 7:05 a.m. EDT. Most lunisolar calendars begin a new month on the day of or the day after the New Moon.
The Hebrew month of Marcheshvan, also abbreviated as Cheshvan or Heshvan, begins at sunset on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. Buddhists celebrate the Hpaung Daw U Festival for 18 days, or a few days after the following full Moon, beginning on the day of the new Moon (on October 23, 2021). The new moon signals the beginning of the month of Ashwin in the Hindu lunar calendar, which is preceded by the nine-day post-monsoon harvest festival known as Sharada Navaratri. The first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon marks the beginning of the month in the Islamic calendar. The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia, which makes use of astronomical calculations based on Mecca’s position to begin months in a more predictable manner, is now used by many Muslim communities. According to this calendar, Rabi al-Awwal is expected to begin at sundown on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. On Thursday, October 7, 2021 (at midnight in China’s time zone, which is 12 hours ahead of EDT), the ninth month of the Chinese calendar will begin.
October 7
Mars will pass by the Sun’s far side as seen from Earth on Thursday, October 7, 2021, which is known as a conjunction. Communications with spacecraft at planets that are close to the Sun as seen from Earth are disrupted by charged particles from the Sun. The NASA solar conjunction ban on controlling any Mars mission this year is in effect between October 2 and October 14.
Mars will be moving from the evening sky to the morning sky because its orbit is different from that of the Earth. After around October 26 Mars will start to emerge from the dawn glow on the eastern horizon (depending upon viewing conditions).
October 9
As observed from Earth, Mercury will pass through an event known as an inferior conjunction on Saturday, October 9, 2021. There are two different kinds of conjunctions that planets that orbit inside the Earth’s orbit might have with the Sun: inferior (when passing between the Earth and the Sun) and superior (when passing on the far side of the Sun as seen from the Earth). After around October 13, Mercury will start changing from the evening sky to the morning sky and will start appearing from the brightness of dawn on the eastern horizon (depending upon viewing conditions).
The bright planet Venus and the waning crescent Moon should be a beautiful sight in the southwest on Saturday night. The Moon will be about 11 degrees above the horizon as evening twilight ends at 7:35 p.m. Venus will be about 2.5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon, and the bright star Antares will be about 6 degrees to the left. At 8:35 p.m., Venus will be the first planet to set in the west-southwest.
October 12
The Moon will appear half-full as it enters its first quarter around 11:25 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. This will occur soon before the moonset at 11:38 p.m., at least for the Washington region.
October 13-14
The planet Mercury will first be visible above the horizon on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, roughly 30 minutes before sunrise, when it will start to emerge from the dawn glow and become low on the eastern horizon. On October 9, Mercury moved from the evening to the morning sky as it passed between the Earth and the Sun.
Saturn will be visible above the waxing gibbous Moon on Wednesday evening until early Thursday morning, October 13 to 14, 2021. As evening darkness ends at 7:30 p.m. EDT, Saturn will be visible around 8 degrees to the top left of the Moon. When the night goes on, Saturn will appear to move clockwise around the Moon, appearing roughly 6 degrees to its upper right as the Moon sets in the west-southwest just after midnight (Thursday morning at 12:45 a.m.).
October 15
The bright planet Jupiter will be visible above the waxing gibbous Moon the following night, Thursday evening through early Friday morning, October 14 to 15, 2021. As evening darkness ends, Jupiter will be visible about 9 degrees to the top left of the Moon (at 7:28 p.m. EDT). As the night goes on, Jupiter will appear to move in a clockwise direction around the Moon, appearing roughly 7 degrees to its upper right as the Moon sets in the west-southwest around two hours after midnight (Friday morning at 1:54 a.m.).
By the time evening twilight ends at 7:27 p.m. EDT on Friday, Oct. 15, the waxing gibbous Moon will have changed such that Jupiter will appear around 9 degrees to the upper right of the Moon. As the night goes on, the pair will seem to split apart.
October 16: Observe the Moon Night
When morning twilight begins at 6:46 a.m. EDT on Saturday, October 16, 2021, the planet Mercury will be visible for the first time above the eastern horizon.
On Saturday night, Venus, a planet with considerably more brightness, will be seen beneath the brilliant star Antares. At 7:26 p.m. EDT, when evening twilight ends, Venus will be 10 degrees above the southwest horizon, and Antares will be 1.4 degrees below Venus. About an hour later, at 8:25 p.m., Antares will set. While the background of stars moves to the west over this moon cycle, Venus will move to the left along the horizon. Venus will move closer to Antares due to these two apparent motions up until Oct. 16, when they will appear to separate as Venus moves to the left and Antares moves closer to the horizon.
October 20
The following full Moon will occur on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, at 10:57 a.m. EDT. Around this period, the Moon will be full for about three days, from Monday night through Thursday morning, and maybe into early Thursday evening.
