Orange Moon

A rather orange looking Moon taken on 17th August 2005 CREDIT: Stuart

So much for green cheese. Last night, just a couple of days short of full moon, the Moon was hanging serenely over the houses that I see from my bedroom window. It was looking decidedly orange.

The Moon isn't actually orange, or made of green cheese for that matter, but sometimes it can look so. The reason is the Earth, or rather the Earth's atmosphere. Imagine you were stood on the Moon looking towards the Sun. Obviously, I don't advise that you normally look directly at the Sun, but this is our imagination so go with it.

At full moon, the Moon is almost on the opposite site of the Earth to the Sun although not quite all lined up. That means that to get to the Moon, light from the Sun has to skim through our atmosphere. It has to go through a lot of atmosphere and, for the same reason that sunsets look reddy-orange, the light which gets to the Moon is slightly orange tinged; some of the blue part of the spectrum has been filtered out by Earth's atmosphere. [Edit 20/8/2005] The light has to come back, through a lot of atmosphere, to your eye. It is this last trip which will do the rest of the reddening. That way, the amount of reddening will depend on your local pollution levels - different countries will see different colours. The Moon should also get less red as it gets higher above the horizon as there is less atmosphere for the light to travel through.

Posted in astro blog by Stuart on Thursday 18th Aug 2005 (14:01 UTC) | 181 Comments | Permalink

Comments: Orange Moon

"That way, the amount of reddening will depend on your local pollution levels - different countries will see different colours." Does this mean that there was no orange moon before man-made pollution? If not, do we know the levels of pollution neccessary to create the different colors of orange? Is is safe to say the cleaner the atmosphere the less likely we will see a orange moon? I'm not sure about this. There are at least seven examples in the history (before industry) in which literature indicates that there were orange moons. Help me out on this!

Posted by Bill Marion on Sunday 16th Apr 2006 (03:38 UTC)

Bill, I wasn't being very precise using the term 'pollution' as I didn't just mean man-made particles. That was my sloppy use of English.

The orange or red colour of the Moon is due to a filtering effect caused by particles in the Earth's atmosphere, because it is just reflected light from the Sun and that doesn't change its colour.

My poor use of language implied that the only particles doing this are man-made pollution, but nature is quite capable of providing its own particles to increase the reddening. Dust storms, sand storms, forest fires and volcanic eruptions push 'large' particles into the Earth's atmosphere and these will increase the reddening. A famous example is that sunsets were particularly vivid following the Krakatoa explosion in 1883.

Back on the human side of things, it doesn't have to have a purely industrial cause. Dry land/soil that is disturbed by farmers during harvest season will also lead to more dust getting into the atmosphere. This is part of the reason why a full Moon at that time of the year can look red - this often gets called the Harvest Moon.

The only thing I was trying to get at by talking about 'local pollution levels' is that the number of large particles in the atmosphere between you and the Moon will vary depending on your location (as well as over time). This might explain why people on different continents don't necessarily see the Moon as orange on the same day.

Posted by Stuart on Sunday 16th Apr 2006 (13:46 UTC)

Yeah, came to this site after seeing the colour of the moon at 2am, it was a burning orange colour, it looked like it was on fire, never seen anything like it. Much more orange and much much brighter then the one in the photo there.

Just thought it was odd, I have seen orange moons before but nothing like this.

Posted by Someone on Wednesday 06th Dec 2006 (15:53 UTC)

Someone, by any chance do you live in New Zealand or Australia? If not, how high above the horizon (roughly) was the Moon when you observed it.

By the way, I wouldn't take the brightness from my photo as it was a short exposure (to keep the detail) and in reality it was much brighter than it looks there. Plus, if it was this morning the Moon was more full than in my image so it would be brighter still.

Posted by Stuart on Wednesday 06th Dec 2006 (18:10 UTC)

Belfast 11.30pm Saturday 3rd March 2007 full moon tonight, it is red though, except for a thin crescent top left, never seen anything like it before. Thanks for the explanation.

Posted by heather on Saturday 03rd Mar 2007 (23:32 UTC)

Gravesend, Kent UK exactly the same as above! great site!

Posted by matt on Saturday 03rd Mar 2007 (23:52 UTC)

just found this site as i am looking at a beautiful, orange, half moon out of my window. it is half three in the morning and the moon is about where the sun would be if it were about an hour away from dissapearing behind the horizon. its not a firey bright orange but it is deffinately orange.... a nice, warm, relaxing, 'would go well with terracotta' orange.

happy moon gazing!

Posted by Grace, uk on Monday 12th Mar 2007 (03:34 UTC)

Grace, it is nice to hear that you got to see an orange Moon. What were you doing up at half three? ;-)

Posted by Stuart on Monday 12th Mar 2007 (16:53 UTC)

Thanks for the information, just did a search after seeing a distinctly red/orange moon quite low on the horizon about 2000 BST in Hertfordshire. My first thought was 'harvest moon' but then I thought, no that must be later in the year I wonder what's causing this one.

Posted by mike on Monday 02nd Apr 2007 (19:22 UTC)

i was watching tv and an orange moon appeared.

i never knew that could occure and i thought it was a planet. so then i came onto here and researched it up!

Posted by sk on Monday 02nd Apr 2007 (19:39 UTC)

i was watching tv and an orange moon appeared.

i never knew that could occure and i thought it was a planet. so then i came onto here and researched it up!

Posted by sk on Monday 02nd Apr 2007 (19:39 UTC)

i was watching tv and an orange moon appeared.

i never knew that could occure and i thought it was a planet. so then i came onto here and researched it up!

Posted by sk on Monday 02nd Apr 2007 (19:39 UTC)

01:20AM May 3rd '07 Iceland

Just walked by the livingroom window to brush my teeth when I caught a glimpse of a a full BRIGHT orange moon.

My eyes widened and I took a step back. :D

I have never seen the moon burn orange before. It was kind of scary. :D But beautiful.

And of course I had to google it, to make sure this wasn't the work of aliens, or the end of the world.

Posted by Ragga on Thursday 03rd May 2007 (01:41 UTC)

1:18 AM May 3, 2007 Central Ohio, USA

Noticed the moon tonight as well. Beautiful yellow orange color here. Glad I stumbled on this site to see that I'm not the only one curious about it. Farmer's are tilling up the fields for planting season. Figured they are stirring up lots of dust into the atmosphere. Thanks for all the info.

Posted by Karen on Friday 04th May 2007 (05:23 UTC)

Is this a phenomenon that is experienced around the world and is it only during the warmer months? I've seen it in New England USA only in July and August over the Atlantic ocean. Wonderfully magical moon.

Posted by Karin on Friday 01st Jun 2007 (23:13 UTC)

Just to let you all know, there was a very low orange full moon in the sky last night over London. I've seen orange moons before, once in Portugal in the 80's, but this one was so amazing as the moon was so low it looked huge, sitting on the horizon just above the rooftops.

I think Stuart and Bill's comments about the partides and atmospheric pollution is very interesting. It relates to a course I'm studying in Social Science and links to how the social and natural are mixed and how this mix affects our environment. It's also interesting to know that it is sometimes called a Harvest Moon? I wonder how it would affect people who follow a wiccan or pagan tradition?

Posted by Kerry on Saturday 02nd Jun 2007 (10:01 UTC)

Kerry, the Harvest Moon name comes from times when harvests happened together and lots of dry dust was kicked up into the atmosphere. These days we can create the small particles responsible for the reddening all year around!

Karin, that means that it can happen at any time of year when there is a full Moon. Also, the effect is stronger the nearer the horizon the Moon is (more atmosphere for the light to pass through). If you watch it for an hour or so as it rises you should see that it lightens in colour.

Posted by Stuart on Saturday 02nd Jun 2007 (16:41 UTC)

The moon here is orange and full

As the night is dark and black.

I wonder at the window, it is beautiful...

which jumper for tomorrow I should really pack.

Rhymes aside, this is a very nice Orange moon tonight from North of London.

Greetings all!

Posted by Flyby on Saturday 02nd Jun 2007 (23:57 UTC)

I did a double take when I saw how orange the moon was just now (1:00 am) as it's a good way past just rising. Then I heard this whistling sound and it was the coyotes starting up. They sang for a while,then the bullfrogs joined in too. Very nice.

Posted by Michelle on Sunday 03rd Jun 2007 (05:08 UTC)

I'm in the Philippines and the Moon is orange.

I also remember many years ago when the Moon turned chocolate brown - yummy.

Posted by julz on Tuesday 05th Jun 2007 (15:55 UTC)

I had stoppped my car to look at the great big

Orange Moon tonight just wishing I had brought my

camera when blue lights started to flash behind me!! A kind police man had stopped in his van to see if I was ok. When I said I was just looking at the moon he just said "The moon does strange things to people as long as you are ok I will get on my way"

I think he thought maybe I was a bit mad as the time was 12 midnight but it was nice of him to ask if I was okay anyway.

Posted by SUE on Friday 29th Jun 2007 (23:50 UTC)

my daughter star and i just observed a big beautiful orange moon. she was curious about it and that's what brought us to this web site.

barb

parkerford, pennsylvania, usa

Posted by barbara on Saturday 30th Jun 2007 (02:13 UTC)

Sue, it is good that the police stopped to see if you were OK. I don't think you were mad; the Moon can be pretty beautiful really and most people tend to ignore it.

Barbara, I hope my explanation made some sense for you and your daughter.

Posted by Stuart on Saturday 30th Jun 2007 (12:18 UTC)

My fiance and I were driving back from Mahone Bay Nova Scotia Canada to Halifax, NS Canada and saw the same orange moon. We wanted to learn more so googled it.

Thanks for your help and explanation. It was close to the horizon as you have indicated because it gave off an eerie glow that lit up the night.

Posted by JPF on Monday 02nd Jul 2007 (14:55 UTC)

It was truly the most beautiful moon I had ever seen. We were scouting out a campsite ontop of the cliffs of a beach in Montauk, Long Island, NY. Flashlights in hand looking for a way to get down to the shoreline that was 40 feet below, we noticed a sliver of what looked like the sun on the ocean's horizon. Immediately we shut the flashlights and decided to stop and enjoy the moon rise over the Atlantic Ocean. It was incredible. I never saw anything like this firey moonrise before. I attempted to take pictures but they did no justice. Thanks for the info and its romantic to hear we weren't alone in our fascination.

Posted by pam on Friday 06th Jul 2007 (02:17 UTC)

"The Moon should also get less red as it gets higher above the horizon as there is less atmosphere for the light to travel through." I don't understand this idea. It seems to me that the moon should be passing through the same amount of earth's atmosphere regardless of the fact that it is directly above the earth? BTW, was a beautiful orange moon tonight - 75% illuminated at about 30 degrees above the horizon.

Posted by Jason on Wednesday 25th Jul 2007 (09:18 UTC)

Found my answer:

http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonorange/

Thanks for helping to point me in the right direction!

Posted by Jason on Wednesday 25th Jul 2007 (09:24 UTC)

This morning... At 1:57am... I looked out the bedroom window and realized something strange about the moon... It was orange. I was in shock and thought maybe my eyes have messed up with the color.. so I ran to the comupter and researched it. Thank God for internet.

Posted by Maria on Friday 27th Jul 2007 (06:19 UTC)

Orange full moon in Milford, CT 9:15 pm July 28, 2007

Posted by towanda on Sunday 29th Jul 2007 (01:18 UTC)

red moon southend on sea uk 30/7/07

Posted by lowe on Monday 30th Jul 2007 (22:06 UTC)

orangish- red moon in onalaska,wa 7-30-2007

Posted by madeline on Tuesday 31st Jul 2007 (05:14 UTC)

Looking at a beautiful orange moon over Denver, Colorado, USA, 10:11 p.m. on July 31. It's so awesome I am tempted to wake my 3 year old to see it. Thanks for the explanation!

Posted by Rachel on Wednesday 01st Aug 2007 (04:19 UTC)

The Moon is amazing tonight over Halifax, Nova Scotia. It's totally orange and it's bigger than the usual. It's something like this photo above.

I was searching to read something about this, then I found this website.

Thank you,

Posted by Rola on Thursday 02nd Aug 2007 (02:09 UTC)

Same in Toronto - the moon is orange tonight... look s weird...

Posted by Karhu on Thursday 02nd Aug 2007 (03:15 UTC)

Beautiful Very Deep Orange at moonrise (10:50ish) on a hot summer night in Auburn (North Eastern Ohio) August 1, 2007

Posted by Kevin Suzanne and Ryan on Thursday 02nd Aug 2007 (03:20 UTC)

Hey Kevin, Karhu, Rola, Rachel, madeline, lowe, towanda, Maria and JPF, thanks for leaving the location and time that you saw an orange Moon. I quite like the fact that this page is becoming a public record of orange Moon sightings. To other people who see an orange Moon, please leave your record of it below. Thanks everyone.

Posted by Stuart on Thursday 02nd Aug 2007 (07:29 UTC)

Stuart, thank you for the information. I came out to sit on my porch with my laptop and noticed that the moon is shining as orange as a tangarine above me in WV tonight. I've never seen anything like it, thank goodness for google or I would have been convinced the world was coming to an end. ;)

Posted by Mindy on Friday 03rd Aug 2007 (03:33 UTC)

It's deep Orange here tonight Aug 3/07 11:30pm EST, Central Ontario Canada. I found your site while trying to explain to my daughter why it was orange. I don't know if it applies, but there are fire bans in most of the surrounding areas, it hasn't rained in awhile and it was hotter than hell today.

Posted by Kelly on Friday 03rd Aug 2007 (03:38 UTC)

Its midnight in upstate ny and the moon is just over the hills. It is a fiery orange, and is the most beautiful i have ever seen. I have heard tales about it so I decided to google it. Thanks for the info!

Posted by ryan on Friday 03rd Aug 2007 (04:16 UTC)

Mindy, Kelly and Ryan, it certainly seems as though much of North America is experiencing orange Moons at the moment. I'm currently in California and the Moon was looking a little orange tonight here too. However, that may be more related to the forest fire nearby which made the Moon deep orangy-red the other day. Thanks for the reports and I'm glad this site was useful for something ;-)

Posted by Stuart on Friday 03rd Aug 2007 (06:21 UTC)

north east england. 5th august 2007. tonight we have experianced the same image of the moon, like an orange colour, quiet extrondinary.

Posted by christopher jones on Sunday 05th Aug 2007 (22:28 UTC)

21/8/07 beautiful orange half moon,which progressed to deep red as it disappeared into the

sea, seen from west coast of Scotland this evening.

Posted by sonia on Tuesday 21st Aug 2007 (21:05 UTC)

21/8/07 beautiful orange half moon,which progressed to deep red as it disappeared into the

sea, seen from west coast of Scotland this evening.

Posted by sonia on Tuesday 21st Aug 2007 (21:05 UTC)

Another fiery orange moon again this evening,just setting now,it's 22.51.on the west coast of Scotland.The colour has been spectacular this past two evenings,will it continue?How often does this happen?I have never seen this before.

Posted by sonia on Wednesday 22nd Aug 2007 (22:00 UTC)

Posted by sonia on Wednesday 22nd Aug 2007 (22:01 UTC)

Is there anything that can predict when the moon turns orange? I would love to see it. What time is it most likely to happen? Thanks

Posted by A on Tuesday 25th Sep 2007 (03:08 UTC)

Is there anything that can predict when the moon turns orange? I would love to see it. What time is it most likely to happen? Thanks

Posted by A on Tuesday 25th Sep 2007 (03:09 UTC)

A, best times seem to be when the Moon is near full because it is brighter (more obvious perhaps). At that time of the month it is not far above the horizon after sunset so it also puts itself in the right place. Other than that, check your local weather conditions for amount of dust in the air - the redder the sunsets, the more dust/pollution in the air.

Posted by Stuart on Tuesday 25th Sep 2007 (07:48 UTC)

I work nights and I've always seen the different shapes, colors, hues etc. that the moon has. I got lucky and early this morning I spotted the most beautiful Orange/Red moon I've ever imagined.

Thanks for the explainations above.

Meriden, CT

Posted by Carmen on Wednesday 26th Sep 2007 (09:57 UTC)

Big beautiful full orange moon tonight over Kingman Arizona......have an awful thought that it's probably due to the smoke coming from the fires in Southern California......or could it have something to do with the Great Pumpkin? :)

Posted by Laura on Saturday 27th Oct 2007 (01:54 UTC)

Big, beautiful and definitely orange moon shining over the sky above Ilkley Moor, England.

It looked lovely but when the clouds passed over the moon disappeared and the clouds were illuminated white.! I'm watching it rise in the sky as I am ironing and watching Star Wars IV.

Posted by Kim, Chloe & Amy on Sunday 28th Oct 2007 (18:10 UTC)

heyyy,

i think this is a pretty interesting site you taught me something soo THANKS

!!!

Posted by andrea on Saturday 17th Nov 2007 (14:29 UTC)

Beatiful Orange and BIG just over the horizon! La Parguera, Lajas (looking towards the Lajas Valley), Puerto Rico. 6:25PM.

Posted by Carlos A. Quinones on Sunday 25th Nov 2007 (04:47 UTC)

In California terms, it is a fairly chilly New Year's Eve. I see what appears to be a half-moon (and it is definitely orange! So warmth seems irrelevant)

I really can't get away from this "tangerine slice" metaphor tonight! :)

Posted by ShanGo Futuro on Monday 31st Dec 2007 (10:32 UTC)

On this beautiful 2008 New Years day around 1:30am we saw a small bottom sliver of the moon here in Fort Worth Texas. It was orange and a very lovely sight! What a marvelous world our God has created. I'm so glad he's made science to allow us to understand some of his awesome works!

Posted by Nicole McClish on Tuesday 01st Jan 2008 (23:04 UTC)

I have looked for years for someone that has seen this moon as large as the eye could see. HUGE

The reason is, I HAVE, and I would really like to know if this is a usual thing or am I the only one who has seen this.

It happened years ago, and I never really talked about it, because 2 times when I did, I was looked at like I was crazy.

I was coming home and turning a curve on Rt 5 in Maryland when I saw it. What I think was the moon. It was as large as the entire sky for miles. I could see shapes in it, and even the crator marks, with sparkles of light from it in spots. I was so shocked by it that I had to pull off the road and stop driving, I stood there just looking at it for about 3-4 minutes, and couldn't even move. I was very shook up from it. Eventually, I moved to shut the car door, and when I looked back, it was gone.

I realize this is an unusual post, but it is a the truth, and I would so like to know what I saw, and if someone could tell me about it, if you know what I saw.

This site is the closest I have found on the net that's something like what I saw, but mine was really HUGE.

ANY information would be wonderful, and would answer a question I have had for many years.

Thank you,

Sheila

Southern Maryland

Posted by Sheila on Monday 23rd Feb 2009 (11:07 UTC)

Sheila, what do you mean by "as large as the entire sky"? I am tempted to think that you don't mean that the entire sky (from the horizon in front of you over your head to the horizon behind you) was filled with the Moon but that it just looked big. Please can you help me to tighten up your statement?

All the best.

Posted by Stuart on Monday 23rd Feb 2009 (12:39 UTC)

First, the moon was straight in front of me. Like you would see a rainbow. It was about that large, maybe larger, but you could see the craters in it, was a planet for sure, that I thought was the moon at the time, and it was orangie.

The only way I can explain how large it was, is with this example.

Standing up, looking straight ahead, move your eyes, WITHOUT MOVING YOUR HEAD AT ALL, look as far right as you can, then look as far left as you can. (it may have been bigger)

As far as how high it was. It was higher than using the example above.

I'm 61 years old, I have raised 4 children, been married for 42 years, and I'm a pretty normal person, however, I feel that it is time for me to find out all I can about anyone else's experience with the same thing, if there is any other person.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question, and I would love to hear about anything you think about this.

Bless,

Sheila

Posted by Sheila on Wednesday 04th Mar 2009 (10:52 UTC)

I forgot to mention above, that I was facing EAST when I saw this.

Not West as most mention.

Posted by Sheila on Saturday 07th Mar 2009 (23:10 UTC)

The fact that it was in the east is not surprising. There are two times when people would notice the Moon being "big" and orange; after sunset and before sunrise. As most people tend not to be out and about early in the morning, this means that it is often seen after sunset and thus the Moon is in the east (for the Moon to be full it is on the opposite side of the sky to the Sun).

From what you say, it took up your entire field of vision. In an average person that is between 140 and 180 degrees. That would mean that it would be in your side windows as well as the front windscreen.

I have absolutely no idea what you saw. Are you sure this wasn't just an orange sky?

Posted by Stuart on Sunday 08th Mar 2009 (00:45 UTC)

Last night I saw the orange moon. It was rising and it had a deep orange colour, that was the first time I had seen it. It was an awesome, beautiful sight. Thanks for the explanation you have given here.

Posted by Jahnavi on Thursday 12th Mar 2009 (14:35 UTC)

It was NO ORANGE SKY !!!!

That's for sure!!!

I came around a curve on RT 5 in Hughesville MD, and I saw it on my left. A huge orange half circle, I was confused at first, but when I noticed how big it really was, I had to stop the car. I got out and looked at it straight ahead of me, but on my left as I parked. I stood at my car door and looked at it for a few minutes, and noticed shiny sparkles in it, and craters, and dark spots, very small and some real big.

I knew instantly it was a planet or something, but didn't have any idea for sure.

I had never heard of the moon being a full orange moon before, until much later.

See, I told you it was big!!!

I know it sounds crazy, but it is the honest truth, and I have never talked to anyone that has seen the same thing, or anything similar.

Although I saw it in orange it was light orange, with the dark areas in it.

I saw half of an entire moon, not the entire moon. About the size of a huge rainbow.

I'm going down to Hughesville this weekend to see my son, and I'm going to check out the area again, and I will try to get an idea just how big it was.

I mapped it on google, and saved the area where I saw it. Kinda different looking at it now, but the tobacco barns are still there. That's what I stood in front of while looking at it.

I'll write back when I go down there, and let you know what I notice there.

I'm even tempted to go there a few times to see if I can see it again.

I guess all the elements would have to be just right though.

Sure would love to have a photo of it, and to find someone that has also seen it.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Have a good one!

Sheila

Posted by Sheila on Friday 13th Mar 2009 (11:30 UTC)

I can't believe there is a site to answer this question "Why is the Moon orange and big"?! The internet is cool, and so are you for providing this information. I noticed a big apricot-coloured moon 10 years ago and I asked my science teacher "why?" but I can't remember being sufficiently enlightened. Yesterday was the night after the full moon; heading east toward the ocean, on the road amid the busy traffic, this huge pale-orange moon was there, hanging about 35 degrees above. The night before, looking up from the back balcony, there it was, quite high and large and coloured, sending a strong white light against our bodies as they cast their shadows into the bluish, quiet night. The dogs had begun their strange howling a few nights before, when the weather turned suddenly chilly. These dogs, ordinary companions closed in suburban fences, gave me the feeling of being out in a remote woodland, shivered by the wild calling of wolves or coyotes. (which is highly unlikely as I was sitting at a table in a house in Australia).

Posted by Bing Bong on Saturday 14th Mar 2009 (19:01 UTC)

Sorry, but why is it BIG? (bigger than usual)?!

Posted by Bing Bing on Saturday 14th Mar 2009 (19:11 UTC)

Bing Bing, if you measure it you'll find that it isn't any bigger than normal. It does *look* big and this is down to psychological effects. See The Moon Illusion Explained and Phil Plait for the ideas as to what these are.

Posted by Stuart on Sunday 15th Mar 2009 (01:48 UTC)

I do understand "Moon Illusion" however what I saw, was in my opinion, NOT the same thing.

My reason for writing here, was to see if anyone had seen one the SIZE I SAW! and so far, I have not found anyone that has seen the same size I did.

I wish I knew who in the scientific community I should talk to about it.

If you have any thoughts on it, let me know.

Posted by Sheila on Tuesday 17th Mar 2009 (15:54 UTC)

Sheila, there is virtually no way that the Earth's Moon was physically that large/close to you. If it had been as large as you say, there would have been huge disasters all over the world caused by huge gravitational tides.

You've discounted the Moon illusion. I cannot think of any physical process that could cause an illusion of the type you mention apart from obvious things like looking through a lens (or mirror) of some kind. I am still tempted to think that you have confused something else for the Moon but I think you'll reject that. If you knew the exact time, date, location and direction of this we could confirm if the Moon was indeed visible at that time.

My suggestion is that this was psychological.

Apologies for being highly skeptical of your story but such strange claims need good evidence to attempt to determine a cause.

Posted by Stuart on Tuesday 17th Mar 2009 (16:18 UTC)

On Thursday, 9 March 2009 at 6:35am I had the pleasure of viewing the most spectacular Orange Moon. This beautiful ball of amazement rested slightly above the horizon West/North/West and not far from the Toronto Pearson Airport. I have often heard of these moons, and until this point had not yet seen one, other than in astronomy related texts. Captivated by the sublime beauty, I attempted to photograph the moon with my cell phone and I did, although it does not appear in the photo. Why is this?

Posted by Marcy on Saturday 11th Apr 2009 (00:12 UTC)

Correction...My last post should indicate APRIL 9th not March 9th (Yesterday morning)...

Posted by Marcy on Saturday 11th Apr 2009 (00:19 UTC)

How amazing

Posted by fehmida on Monday 25th May 2009 (12:16 UTC)

Sunday

7th june

airdrie

lanrikshire

scotland

the moon is orange lol:P

Posted by melissa on Sunday 07th Jun 2009 (22:47 UTC)

While returning from a lovely lake side afternoon, we were captivated by an amazing deep orange, full moon, low on the horizon. What a beautiful site. We understand the red harvest moon, what would cause a deep red full moon in June?

1

Posted by CMIKE on Monday 08th Jun 2009 (07:40 UTC)

CMIKE, the blog post is not about a "Harvest Moon" but orange/red Moons in general.

Posted by Stuart on Monday 08th Jun 2009 (10:52 UTC)

Coming off shift at 11 pm saw a very red moon through the trees. Watched in fascination for awhile. As I drove home, about 20 minutes, the color shifted from red to a more reasonable deep orange. I know I've seen orange moons before but the red was rather startling.

Victoria BC Canada

Posted by Susanne on Monday 08th Jun 2009 (17:31 UTC)

I live on the west coast of Vancouver island close to ucluelet brithish Columbia Canada. What a beautiful moon tonight very orange. I live right by ocean so the glow of moon Is very nice over the ocean.

Posted by Tamara on Tuesday 09th Jun 2009 (06:18 UTC)

Full size: http://bookcracker.com/mrjesse/img_5106-cropped.jpg

6/9/2009, all night long the moon was this color as soon from Port Angeles and Sequim, Washington, USA.

I can see some stars overhead, so it's not too overcast, but I cannot see as many stars as normal, so it's not perfectly clear either.

I took a 30 second exposure of the stars (ISO400, F1/4) and they look orange too. So it must be some atmospheric condition that makes everything look orange.

-Jesse

Posted by Jesse on Tuesday 09th Jun 2009 (10:40 UTC)

6/9/2009 - 10:57pm EST

There is a most beautiful full orange moon out tonight in Jacksonville Florida. I found this site on google after seeing it and I had to look it up to see what causes the orange apperance. How awesome.....

Posted by bunnybear on Wednesday 10th Jun 2009 (03:01 UTC)

Posted by bunnybear on Wednesday 10th Jun 2009 (03:02 UTC)

we currently have had an orange moon for 2 days over Grimsby , Lincolnshire, UK i was very quirious as to why it was orange but everyone has cleared this up for me, it's a verry strange site to see!

Posted by gareth king on Sunday 05th Jul 2009 (21:26 UTC)

tonight I was coming home from the campgrounds and I saw a orange moon and i thought to myself what a great science project

Posted by Tristan Schryer on Sunday 12th Jul 2009 (03:37 UTC)

i was fishing last night this may sound starnge but the moon was a dark orangie colour i was really confused i even woke up my friend who was staying in the tent next to me and he was shocked he lives far away from me but next time we meet up i will get the picture off him is there any way you can tell when the moon will be that osrt of colour agian??

any info please

Ashley

Posted by ashley on Saturday 25th Jul 2009 (15:33 UTC)

Driving home from the Herne Bay (Kent, England) Carnival past all the corn field commenting to my husband and daughter that the combine harvester where still going and all the dust that was drifting across the road. When we turn the corner and the the most magnificent view of the Orange Moon. Full, bright and low on the horizon. My 5yrs Daughter convince it was Mars assured her it was not and said I would look it up on the net. Thanks for such a brilliant description of why they happen. Looking forward to my next Harvest Moon.

Posted by Emma on Saturday 08th Aug 2009 (21:42 UTC)

Saw a beautiful bright orange moon very low in the sky as i was driving home to Ashford in Kent last night. It was almost full but not quite. Have never seen anything like it before!! Quite stunning. Thanks for the answers :-)

Posted by Jo on Monday 10th Aug 2009 (13:08 UTC)

Swanage, UK.

Saw a lovely half moon tonight which was a lovely burnt orange colour, absolutely stunning! Now, it was very low to the horizon, but it actually sank into the horizon quite rapidly. What happens to make the moon do this and why does it do it?...

Posted by Stew Plumridge on Saturday 26th Sep 2009 (22:23 UTC)

It sank into the horizon for the same reason that the Sun does; the Earth is rotating.

Posted by Stuart on Saturday 26th Sep 2009 (23:41 UTC)

It is freakin huge....and burnt orange/reddish color tonight here in st.louis mo/usa!

I am scared even though I have read all the reasons as to how 'natural',this happening is..lol.

Im a big scardey cat.

Posted by meoooow2 on Saturday 07th Nov 2009 (03:03 UTC)

Also,you guys dont have to post ur dates...its already on here/shows up after the comments post.

Posted by meoooow2 on Saturday 07th Nov 2009 (03:05 UTC)

Thank you for your help. I am doing a science project on why the Moon can be orange because when I saw it last night it was orange. Later that night, it was a normal white. The answer was easy to understand, yet had good information.

Posted by Stephen Foskey on Sunday 06th Dec 2009 (19:53 UTC)

wow ! on the night of friday december 04 2009 I got a call from a faimaly member and she said to look to the east and we should be able to see the moon . We whent out side and we looked for the moon and it was big and orange . I wish I had my camera with me then I could get a picture for a memery of that night . I could not believe my eyes thats a night to remember for sure. Im only 11 and theres MORE adventure fun to come in my life. Il never forget it even without a picture .

Posted by Justise McCracken on Monday 07th Dec 2009 (22:16 UTC)

Tonight was a big white full moon but later 2.31am I notice a large orange light shinning through my window...I opened my curtains to see the white full moon which was far above had disappeared and just over the city was a large 3/4 orange moon...at first I thought it was the sun but it sunk lower and lower within minutes and by 2.36am it had disappeared completely, I only had seconds to take a few rather blurred photos but I was wondering what would have caused the moon to do this. the night is now pitch black.

I live in tasmania, Australia

Posted by Violet on Monday 28th Dec 2009 (16:16 UTC)

Monday, Dec. 28, about 4:30am I first noticed a HUGE orange moon. I watched it, amazed, awed, and completely freaked out, until about 5:15am, when it sunk out of my sight. I live in North Texas, close to Dallas.

So glad I found this site. That was a bit scary to see, with no understanding!

Posted by S.D. on Friday 01st Jan 2010 (17:47 UTC)

Jan. 2, 2010 My husband is a camera buff and took a picture of a Reddish/Orange moon as it rose over Atlanta, GA on New Year's night. I googled "red/orange" moon and found this site. It is my understanding from a bit of research that the moon can have a reddish appearance on the other side of a hemisphere from where a lunar eclipse is occuring. This is due to shadows from the sun. I don't understand all of this, but I appreciate finding this website and being able to share.

Posted by Martha, Buford, GA USA on Saturday 02nd Jan 2010 (13:03 UTC)

Even yesterday(17 feb 2010),the moon was orange and cresent shaped when viewed from India.but all of a sudden it vanished away from sight and never returned back.

I am an Indian,Tamilan

Posted by ranjith on Thursday 18th Feb 2010 (09:08 UTC)

Ranjith, was it obscured by cloud? That is exactly what happened to me a day or so ago as cloud blocked my view.

Posted by Stuart on Thursday 18th Feb 2010 (09:42 UTC)

yeah..maybe stuart...i didnt notice it much...i noticed the difference at 8.24. and the moon got lost from sight at 8.30 pm... any way thanks for your reply...

Posted by ranjith on Wednesday 24th Feb 2010 (07:45 UTC)

OMG! I'm with my boyfriend right now in a semi truck. And I just saw the moon; but its orange its pretty but scary looking at the same time. O I see it again but its hiding behind light clouds. Wow! Pretty and scary. So I just had to google it; This article really helped. It looks like a fire ball in the sky. This is my 1st time seeing this. We are in WI right now. O and by the way, about a year ago I was in I'll and out of nowhere I seen a green light that lit up the sky. Now what was that? It was soooo weird. I looked it up but it says its ufo's and stuff like that. Anyways thanks for writing this article, it really helped. For a min I thought the moon was gonna blow up.Thanks again bye :)

Posted by Maria on Friday 30th Apr 2010 (03:52 UTC)

you guys suck. i is a awesome person and i know better then all yall tha the moon is an alien spaceship coming to enslave us and turn us cathlic. DUH. now how do i turn this puter off?

Posted by george jones on Tuesday 04th May 2010 (12:30 UTC)

you guys suck. i is a awesome person and i know better then all yall tha the moon is an alien spaceship coming to enslave us and turn us cathlic. DUH. now how do i turn this puter off?