A full “harvest moon” will be visible in the night sky tonight, Friday the 13th and tomorrow, and though the timing sounds a bit ominous, there’s no reason to be spooked by this skywatching event.
No special equipment is needed to view the moon, of course, though binoculars allow you to make out features such as craters and lava fields on the lunar surface.
It’s rare for a full moon to coincide with Friday the 13th. The last time the two events synced up across the entire nation was on Oct. 13, 2000. The next time will be on Aug. 13, 2049.
On average, the Farmers’ Almanac says a Friday the 13th full moon is a 20-year occurrence.
As you might expect, September’s full moon is called the “Harvest Moon” because it comes at the peak of harvest season.