Full Moon Bonfire
Friday, September 29, 2023
Location: On the beach between BW 1 and 2
Sunset – 7:07 pm
Moonrise – 7:28 pm
High Tide – 9:11 pm
Full Harvest Moon
This full moon promises to bring king tides but hopefully a beautiful evening after last month’s cancellation due to Idalia. The evenings are getting cooler and a fire provides a little warmth and the ambiance for an enjoyable evening on the beach with friends, family and neighbors.
To keep things simple, each person brings what you want: food, drinks, chairs and a stick of firewood for a big bonfire. Nothing will be provided but a beautiful beach, a bonfire and, hopefully, a full moon.
Hopefully the weather remains accommodating. People ask if the bonfire will be held if it’s rainy…. the bonfire will be cancelled if it is raining or rain is threatening as few would be comfortable attending.
By terms of the permit, the fire needs to be out no later than 10:00 pm. The earlier sunset and moonrise times give us time to enjoy the evening.
Other night sky observation opportunities:
- The International Space Station is to be visible at 9:08 pm in the NNW but unfortunately, the maximum height is only 13 degrees.
- According to spacetourismguide.com, there are no astronomy events the last week of September.
- The next SpaceX launch isn’t scheduled until October 5.
- I recently saw my first Starlink satellite train. Starlink is a chain of satellites that reside in low-Earth orbit in outer space. The satellite constellation was launched into orbit in 2019 by SpaceX and provides worldwide, broadband internet services. It appears brighter than the space station and looks like a stream of lights are running across the sky. Findstarlink.com provides the dates and times it would be visible in the next five days. Unfortunately, there are no expected times of good visibility during the bonfire.
Put these dates for the Full Moon Bonfires on your calendar:
- Sunday, October 29 (The day after the full moon when the moonrise is after sunset.)
- Monday, November 27
- Tuesday, December 26 – no bonfire unless someone volunteers to take charge
There’s always plenty of room on the beach for everyone, so invite a friend or bring your houseguests.
How the full moon got its name:
Per The Old Farmer’s Almanac:
September – Full Harvest Moon: The full Moon that happens nearest to the fall equinox (September 22 or 23) always takes on the name “Harvest Moon.” Unlike other full Moons, this full Moon rises at nearly the same time—around sunset—for several evenings in a row, giving farmers several extra evenings of moonlight and allowing them to finish their harvests before the frosts of fall arrive. While September’s full Moon is usually known as the Harvest Moon, if October’s full Moon happens to occur closer to the equinox than September’s, it takes on the name “Harvest Moon” instead. In this case, September’s full Moon is referred to as the Corn Moon.
Other names:
- Autumn Moon (Cree)
• Child Moon (Tlingit)
• Corn Harvest Moon (Dakota)
• Corn Maker Moon (Western Abenaki)
• Falling Leaves Moon (Ojibwe)
• Harvest Moon
• Leaves Turning Moon (Anishinaabe)
• Mating Moon (Cree)
• Moon of Brown Leaves (Lakota)
• Moon When the Rice is Laid Up to Dry (Dakota)
• Rutting Moon (Cree)
• Yellow Leaf Moon (Assiniboine)
I found another website that says the Cherokee Indians called it the Nut Moon and the English Medieval name was the Barley Moon. Another website says the Chinese call it Chrysanthemum Moon.
-Submitted by Judy Morr