Full Moon Tonight

• September: Corn Moon -
  The moon rises as the sun sets over a freshly harvested corn field on a farm in Pleasant Plains, Ill., in this Oct 6, 2006 shot. The name for the September full moon is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested. The September full moon also often is called the Harvest Moon.
  
  
  

  Seth Perlman, AP

• October: Harvest Moon -
  An orange harvest moon rises with the Washington Monument in the foreground on a mid-October night in Washington, D.C. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. Every two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this moon.
  
  
  

  Mark Wilson, Newsmakers

• November: Beaver Moon -
  A full moon rises over an oak tree in this November 2006 photo shot in Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California. Why Beaver Moon? The Farmer's Almanac states that the interpretation comes from the time of year when beavers are actively preparing for winter. It's also sometimes referred to as the Frosty Moon.
  
  
  

  George Rose, Getty Images

• December: Cold Moon or Long Nights Moon -
  The full moon sets behind the Oh Be Joyful ridge in the West Elk Mountain range near Crested Butte, Colorado on Friday morning, Dec., 12, 2008. The rest of the description of this photo tells why this is known as the Cold Moon: The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for western Colorado Dec. 12 through the weekend with a strong cold front, heavy snow and strong gusty winds expected. Brrrrrr.
  
  
  

  Nathan Bilow, AP

• January: Wolf Moon -
  In this photo, the full moon hangs over the alpine panorama at the Zugspitze peak in Germany, just before sunrise on Jan. 11, 2009. Mountaineering enthusiasts took the cable car in the early morning hours to reach the summit of Germany's highest mountain in biting cold before sunrise.
  
  
  

  Oliver Lang, AFP/Getty Images

• February: Snow Moon -
  The moon sets as the sun rises on the Grand Tetons in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo. Since February is most often the month associated with the heaviest snowfall, native tribes of the north and east most often called February's full Moon the Full Snow Moon.
  
  
  

  Jackson Hole/ Jonathan Adams, AP

• March: Worm Moon -
  A full moon rises over the red sand dunes just outside the Saudi Aramco oil field complex facilities at Shaybah in the Rub' al Khali ("empty quarter") desert in March 2003 in Shaybah, Saudi Arabia. The month of March's full moon is called the Full Worm Moon because as the temperature begins to warm and the ground thaws, earthworms appear, heralding the return of the robins.
  
  
  

  Reza, Getty Images

• April: Pink Moon -
  A Pink Moon sets over Bath, Maine, in April, 2006. American Indians called April's full moon the "Pink Moon" after the color of the spring's earliest wild flowers, according to the Farmers' Almanac. The Farmer's Almanac notes that "full moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon."
  
  
  

  Robert F. Bukaty, AP

• May: Flower Moon -
  A full moon appears above the Sydney Opera House during May's Australian Fashion Week Spring/Summer event in Sydney, Australia.
  
  
  

  Lucas Dawson, Getty Images

• June: Strawberry Moon -
  The moon rises in the background as a horse eats grass in a field in Bloomsburg, Pa., after sunset on June 16, 2008, following a thunderstorm that moved across the region.
  
  
  

  Jimmy May, Bloomsburg Press Enterprise/ AP