He made the Moon for seasons

He appointed the moon for seasons;

The sun knows its going down.

You make darkness, and it is night,

O LORD, how manifold are Your works!

In wisdom You have made them all.

Psalm 104:19-20a, 24 

There has been no electricity at my house for several hours amounting to almost an entire day. Last night as I lay in the darkness and the tropical heat, I decided to finally open the windows and risk that mosquitoes would come inside along with the cooler air. As I pulled back the curtain I was greeted with the most beautiful sight. The smokey looking clouds (from the photo above) soon cleared to reveal a gorgeous almost-full moon, with Jupiter beaming next to it. After staring at it for a while and getting lost in my thoughts of how magnificent God's creation is, I remembered I could take out my camera and capture it [see my photos at end]. Little did I know that my wide-eyed glimpse of sparkling Jupiter was also a special sighting, astronomically-speaking. Read below to find out why and be sure to peek out your window tonight for the full harvest moon!

The Harvest Moon and the blazing planet Jupiter shine all night long tonight to commemorate the first full night of the autumn season. By common practice, we use the September equinox to mark the start of autumn, and call the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox the Full Harvest Moon. In 2010, the Harvest Moon comes only 6 hours after the September equinox.

What’s special about the Harvest Moon?

If you live in the southern hemisphere, the September equinox signals the beginning of spring, and this full moon counts as the first full moon of spring.

The September equinox falls on Thursday, September 23, at 3:09 Universal Time. Converting the equinox time to North American clocks, that places the equinox on Wednesday, September 22, at 11:09 p.m. Eastern Time, 10:09 p.m. Central Time, 9:09 p.m. Mountain Time and 8:09 p.m. Pacific Time. For more on the equinox see yesterday’s program.

For the moon and Jupiter to shine all night long on any equinox, these three events – the opposition of Jupiter, the equinox and full moon – all have to happen in close conjunction. In 2010, the three events follow one another like falling dominos, with the whole procession taking less than two days time.

September 2010 presents the only time in your lifetime that you’ll be able to witness the moon and Jupiter’s simultaneous all-night appearance on the equinox. On this the first full night of autumn, watch the Harvest Moon and Jupiter as they sail westward across the sky tonight!
'Harvest Moon, Jupiter, equinox on September 23' from http://earthsky.org

Here are some photos I took by sticking my little point and shoot camera out my bedroom window [you can click on them for bigger images]. If it was this beautiful last night, tonight when the moon is perfectly full it will be amazing!

That tiny dot on the right side of the moon is Jupiter :-)

I don't know how nature affects you, but whether it's a daytime landscape or a night-time marvel, I am always quickly helped to remember that I serve the Maker of the Heavens, the Earth, the Seas and all that fill them (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 51). He can do everything, and no purpose of His can be withheld from Him (Jer. 32:17-20; Job 42:2). He has unsearchable wisdom, all power, and He loves me (Rom 8:28-39). This God can be trusted with my life and I am so thankful that I get to belong to Him. Psalm 104 tells us that God appointed the moon for seasons on the earth. As for the seasons of my life - and of all who belong to Him - He oversees and directs those personally. Aren't you thankful? I am.

"My times are in Your hand"

Psalm 31:15