What’s happening now is the Moon is rising further north each day, which translates to — for those north of the equator at this time of year — smaller changes in the time of moonrise from day to day. That’s because the Moon’s orbit is tilted the smallest amount to the horizon or, put another way, appears most parallel with the horizon at this time.
Your latitude above or below the equator affects the magnitude of the Harvest Moon effect. This week, the farther north you live, the bigger the effect, and the closer together subsequent moonrises appear, and for longer. For example, check out the moonrise times listed below in Chicago, Illinois (at 42° N), compared with those in Fairbanks, Alaska (65° N) over the next week. In Chicago, the Moon will rise a maximum of just 22 minutes later each day for about three days in a row. But in Fairbanks, where the Moon rises earlier each day, subsequent moonrises are just 6 minutes apart for most of the week.
Local Time of Moonrise
Friday, September 17
Chicago: 5:47 P.M.
Fairbanks: 8:54 P.M.
Saturday, September 18
Chicago: 6:18 P.M.
Fairbanks: 8:46 P.M.
Sunday, September 19
Chicago: 6:46 P.M.
Fairbanks: 8:40 P.M.
Monday, September 20 (Full Moon)
Chicago: 7:10 P.M.
Fairbanks: 8:34 P.M.
Tuesday, September 21
Chicago: 7:32 P.M.
Fairbanks: 8:28 P.M.
Wednesday, September 22
Chicago: 7:54 P.M.
Fairbanks: 8:22 P.M.
Thursday, September 23
Chicago: 8:16 P.M.
Fairbanks: 8:16 P.M.
Friday, September 24
Chicago: 8:41 P.M.
Fairbanks: 8:10 P.M.