what causes a harvest moon to appear a redish orange?

Answer 1

'It is claimed by some that the Harvest Moon seems to be somehow bigger or brighter or yellower in color than other full moons. This is a myth. The yellow or golden or orangish or reddish color of the moon shortly after it rises is a physical effect, which stems from the fact that, when you see the moon low in the sky, you are looking at it through a greater amount of atmosphere than when the moon is overhead. The atmosphere scatters the bluish component of white moonlight (which is really reflected sunlight) but allows the reddish component of the light to travel a straighter path to your eyes. Hence all moons (and stars and planets) look reddish when they are low in the sky."

Answer 2

Pollution in the air filters out the smaller wavelengths- the blues and purples- leaving the red and orange light to come through. When the moon rises over the horizon, the filtered light makes it look orange. Its called a 'harvest moon' because traditionally, farmers burned their feilds after harvesting them, so the smoke in the atmosphere made the moon look orange.

Answer 3

There's nothing special about a harvest moon. When it's close to the horizon it undergoes the same light bending that makes the sun look orange when it rises and sets.

Answer 4

i'm an astronomer so I appeared up info in our observatory database for you ! fairly, it is not basically for the time of the Harvest Moon that this happens. you will discover this on any finished or almost finished moon simply by fact the moon is transforming into. And it fairly is for a similar reason that sunsets are crimson and orange. The solar is shining all the colors of the rainbow directly to the moon, and the moon is reflecting all of those colorations particularly calmly. whilst the moon is low, the contemplated image voltaic has to commute by way of extra air than whilst the moon is severe interior the sky. colorations on the blue and violet end of the rainbow (spectrum) are actual scattered or bent (refracted) by the ambience. (this is why the sky is blue: you're seeing blue image voltaic scattered in each and every path.) So it fairly is the colors on the crimson and orange end of the spectrum that pass for the time of the ambience and into your eyes. right here image links i stumbled on online to furnish you a seen of the respond .

Answer 5

You may also find this of interest:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3020737.stm

Lunar eclipses also appear to be reddish orange. This article briefly touches on why the moon appears that color and the person who answered earlier has it right about light refraction!