Kalin’s Call: Great viewing for harvest moon this weekend in the Maritimes

The full harvest moon is seen Friday, Sept. 13, 2019, in the skies above Overland Park, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

With high pressure in place and Hurricane Earl passing well to the east, it should be a great weekend for some night sky viewing in the Maritimes.

A full moon rises on Saturday, the closest to the autumnal equinox, it is often referred to as the harvest moon.

The full “harvest moon” will rise over the eastern horizon Saturday evening before setting on the western horizon just after sunrise on Sunday. The harvest moon is a common reference to the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. The equinox will be on Sept. 22 at 10:03 p.m. this year for the Maritimes. Viewing conditions should be excellent with a clear night sky expected Saturday. While doing a bit of moon gazing take a look for the planet Saturn which will be just out ahead of the Moon and the planet Jupiter which will be just behind. The Moon will reach its highest point in the night sky over the southeast horizon between midnight and 1 a.m.. I’d love to see some of your pictures and you can send them to me at [e-mail].

There will be great conditions for night sky viewing this weekend as high pressure keeps the sky clear.

As far as weather goes, it is setup to be a mainly sunny September weekend. High temperatures on Saturday will be held in the low 20s in a northerly wind except for western areas of New Brunswick where highs will reach the mid-to-high 20s. The northerly wind will be gusty for eastern Nova Scotia, particularly Cape Breton, as that part of the region will be squeezed between high pressure and the passing Hurricane Earl to the east. Wind gusts in eastern Nova Scotia will build into a range of 50 to 70 km/h on Saturday before diminishing to 30 to 50 km/h on Sunday.

There will be sunshine on Saturday, but eastern Nova Scotia will experience gusty winds in part due to the passage of Hurricane Earl to the east.

If you’re enjoying recreation or working on the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia this weekend, keep in mind that some increase in swell and currents is expected due to the passage east of the hurricane.

The forecast from the National Hurricane Center continues to hold Earl well the east of the land areas of the Maritimes. Some increase in coastal swell and currents is expected this weekend.

More sun in the forecast for Sunday, however the high pressure system is expected to move east allowing for some high cloud to return to western New Brunswick and southwestern Nova Scotia through the day. High temperatures on Sunday are forecast to be above seasonable reaching the mid-to-high 20s for most of the Maritimes, with P.E.I. and eastern Nova Scotia -- including Cape Breton -- in the low-to-mid 20s. All in all it is a favourable weather outlook for outdoor activities and events this weekend, including the Atlantic Balloon Fiesta being held in Sussex, N.B.

High cloud returns to western areas of the Maritimes on Sunday. A generally warm day by early September standards.