A harvest moon will rise this weekend || What you need to know about the full moon

 A harvest moon will rise this weekend. What you need to know about the full moon. A stunning harvest full moon will rise in the eastern sky Friday evening, and the nearly full moon will be visible each night through the weekend, barring pesky clouds.

Skywatchers who step outside Friday night or early Saturday will be able to enjoy the sights of the harvest moon, one of the most popular full moons of the year. It's directly related to the changing of the seasons, AccuWeather said. 

The full moon peaks on Saturday at about 6 a.m. EDT, although it will appear bright and full in the sky beginning on Friday and into Sunday, according to LiveScience

The harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, which this year will be Sept. 22. 

Why is it called the harvest moon?

The harvest moon has its history in the fields.

"In the days before tractors with headlights, having moonlight to work by was crucial to getting the harvest in quickly before rain caused it to rot," says Alan MacRobert, an editor at Sky & Telescope magazine.

Many crops ripen all at once in late summer and early autumn, so farmers found themselves extremely busy at this time of year, according to NASA. They had to work after sundown.

Moonlight became an essential part of farming, and the harvest moon was born.

The Oxford English Dictionary gives 1706 as the year of the first published use of the harvest moon, NASA said.

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