Stargazers in Europe, the UK, and North and South America witnessed a lunar eclipse early on January 21, which saw a small amount of sunlight refracted by the Earth towards the moon, bathing it in a red glow from our perspective. The phenomenon is known as a “super wolf blood moon,” which references the size and color of the moon, and the fact that full moons that occur in January are called “wolf moons”. This video shows the moon hours before the eclipse, already casting a red glow across the skies of London. Credit: Victor Da Rocha via Storyful

A rare type of full moon will appear this Friday, September 13.

As the sun sets on Friday the 13th, Aussies will be able to view a “harvest moon” on Friday the 13th, for the last time until 2049, according to reports.

Friday’s Harvest Moon is so named because the moon reaches peak brightness close to the Spring equinox. This full moon each year is associated with times of harvest, and is also referred to as the “corn moon”, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. It’s apparition is said to mark the beginning of an auspicious time of luck.

The harvest moon will typically occur in September, but will occasionally fall in October, depending on the time of the Equinox.

On the evening of Friday the 13th, the moon in Australian skies will reach 98 per cent illumination, later becoming 100 per cent full during the daylight hours of Saturday at 2.32pm.

According to Forbes, the best time to view the harvest moon is at nightfall, when it rises.

A Harvest Moon landing on a Friday the 13th is a relatively rare event, the first of its kind since the full moon on January 13, 2006.

The next full moon to fall on a Friday the 13th is not due until August 13, 2049, according to The Farmer’s Almanac.

This harvest moon is referred to as a “micro moon”, which means it is at a relatively far distance from Earth, in its four week orbit cycle. When the moon is at a closer point to Earth’s surface, it’s referred to as a “supermoon”.

The harvest moon will appear about 14 per cent smaller and 30 per cent dimmer than “supermoons”, according to The Washington Post.

There is no formal definition for what makes a supermoon and what makes a micromoon, but there are guidelines for the distances. A micromoon must be more than 404,999.5km from earth, which this harvest moon exceeds by a further 1313km. Supermoons must be 3281.5km closer to the surface of the earth.

The full moon will reach peak illumination in Sydney on Saturday 14th at 2.32pm.

