Why does the Harvest Moon rise earlier?
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The Harvest Moon rises earlier than other full moons due to the unique angle of the moon’s orbit around the Earth during this time of year.
Usually, throughout the year, the Moon rises an average of about 50 minutes later each day. But for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the northern USA, and only 10 to 20 minutes later farther north in Canada and Europe.
This phenomenon happens because the Moon’s orbital motion (combined with the larger orbit of the Earth around the Sun) carries it farther eastward among the constellations of the zodiac from night to night.
What makes you think it does? You’d expect a full moon to rise around 6pm, or 7pm with summer time in effect, just as sunset averages around that time. Are you looking at a particular moonrise forecast that seems much earlier than that?
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