Why is the moon orange tonight?

Moon over Tennessee

This was the beautiful sight that greeted my children and me tonight.  We were so excited to take binoculars out to the park and take a look at the spectacular harvest moon.

The harvest moon is what we call the full moon closest to the fall equinox.  Years ago, this moon was a signal that the fall harvest season was upon us and helped light the way for farmers working hard into the night.  The harvest moon also marks when many species of birds begin a long migration south.  It can be a beautiful sight to see these birds flying at night against the bright moon.  The orange/red color comes from the dust and clouds in our atmosphere filtering the light reflecting off the moon.

Times like these are great for hooking kids on astronomy!  ETC Montessori had some great three part cards and control chart for free here.  Montessori Printshop has them at a very reasonable price here.  Deb at Living Montessori Now blogged about an astronomy theme a while back and listed quite a few resources.  View that blog here.

Even if you can't fit in lessons on the moon, get out your binoculars and enjoy!