Another supermoon is going to occur tonight. This supermoon is also the harvest moon. The combination of those two features, along with a sky painted with thin clouds, could make tonight’s supermoon very photogenic.

A supermoon is when a full moon occurs on the same day as the moon is closest in its orbit to earth.

A harvest moon may be even more important for photographing the moon. A harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. This month’s full moon is closer to the autumnal equinox than next month’s full moon. So tonight is also the harvest moon.

The harvest moon is more photogenic for two reasons. First, the sky gets darker now as compared to summer. Sunset is now around 8:00 p.m. in most of Michigan. Skies will be dark by 8:30 p.m. The moon rises this evening at 7:36 p.m., according to Richard Walker, astronomer at Longway Planetarium in Flint. So by the time it is dark, the supermoon and harvest moon will be just above the horizon. This should make for a great opportunity to photograph the moon with landmarks and the horizon in the foreground.

The other reason the harvest moon may be so photogenic is the speed of the moon’s ascent into the sky. The harvest moon’s lower path in the sky means it will hover near the horizon for a longer time. So you may be able to snap pictures from several of your favorite locations.

The sky should be okay to excellent for photographing the supermoon/harvest moon tonight. The farther south and east you are in Michigan, the clearer your skies will be. And there should be some thin, photogenic clouds in the sky in many areas.