Silhouette of a person crossing a bridge against a large, orange full moon in a dark night sky.
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images

The Harvest Moon Is Past Peak Fullness, but It’ll Still Be 99.6% Illuminated Tonight

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Sunday, Sept. 27, gives skywatchers another chance to catch the Harvest Moon near the horizon. It rises in New York at 6:58 p.m. EDT, just 24 minutes after Saturday’s moonrise time, and in Los Angeles at 7:10 p.m. PDT. Although it reached peak fullness at 12:49 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 26, it’ll still be about 99.6% illuminated Sunday evening.

The Harvest Moon label goes to whichever full moon falls nearest the autumn equinox, which arrived this year on Sept. 23. At this point in the season, the moon crosses the eastern horizon at a low angle, keeping moonrise times unusually close together for several evenings. The extra light after sunset once gave farmers more time to bring in crops.

The full Harvest Moon rising above the City of London skyline at dusk
London’s skyline frames the Harvest Moon as it climbs above the City on October 7, 2025 — the first of three supermoons expected before year’s end. Photo by Dan Kitwood / Getty Images.

Saturn was the bright point near the moon and could be seen without a telescope. The planet reaches opposition on Oct. 4, when Earth lines up between Saturn and the sun, making Saturn brighter than at any other point in 2026. Neptune occupied the same area of the sky but was much fainter.

The Harvest Moon rising over Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee, was lit by the Harvest Moon on Sept. 26, 2026. Photo by USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

The moon’s orange cast near the horizon came from its light passing through more of the atmosphere. More blue light gets scattered along that longer path, while red and orange light continues to the eye.

A man walks across a bridge in Frankfurt, Germany, with a large full moon looming in the background
Frankfurt’s bridge silhouette frames a pedestrian walking beneath the Harvest Moon — one of four supermoons in 2024 — over western Germany on Sept. 17, 2024. Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP via Getty Images.

Its apparent size came from the moon illusion. Buildings, trees and mountains give the brain reference points that make a low moon seem larger; the effect fades as the moon climbs and those comparisons fall away.

Full Harvest Moon rising behind a mosque silhouetted against the night sky in Doha, Qatar
On Sept. 18, 2024, the Harvest Moon rises over Doha, casting a mosque into silhouette against its amber glow. Photo by Karim Jaafar / AFP via Getty Images.