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The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 25 and the full moon will occur after moonrise at 3.45am on September 27 (17th day of the 8th Lunar Month). Except for this year, all Mid-Autumn full moons (full moon of the 8th Lunar Month) from 2005-2012 occur during the daytime. So the Mid-Autumn full moon this year is the fullest one people may be able to see for some years.
Full Moon at Mid-Autumn Festival usually occurs on the 15th day or 16th day of the 8th Lunar Month, and occasionally on the 17th day. The last time the Mid-Autumn full moon occurred on the 17th day of the 8th Lunar Month was in 2000, and the next time will be in 2016.
The distance between the Moon and the Earth will be about 361,000 kilometres at this full moon, slightly shorter than the average value of 385,000 kilometers. The Moon will therefore appear to be slightly larger than normal.
Below are the times of moonrise, transit and moonset during the Mid-Autumn Festival period this year. During transit, the moon passes the local meridian in the south and the elevation is the highest of the night.
On Monday, September 24
Moonrise at 4.35pm
Transit (Elevation 55 degrees) at 10.24pm
Moonset at 4.18am (next morning)
On Tuesday, September 25 (Mid-Autumn Festival)
Moonrise at 5.13pm
Transit (Elevation 62 degrees) at 11.13pm
Moonset at 5.20am (next morning)
On Wednesday, September 26
Moonrise at 5.51pm
Transit (Elevation 70 degrees) at 0.03am (next morning)
Full Moon (Direction due west-southwest, Elevation 34 degrees) at 3.45am (next morning)
Moonset at 6.23am (next morning)
For the weather during the Mid-Autumn Festival period, please see the "7-day Weather Forecast" issued by the Hong Kong Observatory at: http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/fnd.htm
Ends/Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:02
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