Harvest moonrise photos and video

* Fantastic fall weekend: Full Forecast | Drought watch lifted *

The Marine Corps Memorial with the rising harvest moon, Sept. 23, 2010.

The harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. For the first time since 1991, the harvest moon occurred at the start of autumn, on Sept. 23, 2010. I joined about 40 other photographers at the Netherlands Carillon to photograph the harvest moon rising over Washington. The evening was quite summer-like, with a moderate amount of haze in the atmosphere combined with high humidity, which provided weather conditions that felt more like mid-summer than the kickoff of autumn.

The layer of haze, visible at the horizon, prevented the moon from being seen at the time of moonrise. Instead, it just slowly appeared in the sky well above the horizon, about 20 minutes after moonrise. The moon was first pink, transitioned to yellow, then became a bright, white sphere of light as it rose in the sky above Washington.

Keep reading for a moonrise video that shows the harvest moon rising above Washington.

A time-lapse video of the rising harvest moon over Washington, Sept. 23, 2010. Note how the moon appears in the sky above the horizon, but is not visible rising on the horizon.

A wide view of the rising harvest moon over Washington, Sept. 23, 2010. This photo was taken at 7:18 p.m., 25 minutes after moonrise. The moon first appeared pink, then quickly transitioned to yellow and white as it rose into the sky.

A view of the harvest moon rising above Washington, Sept. 23, 2010. This photo was taken at 7:38 p.m., 45 minutes after moonrise.