Harvest moon 2013 to appear Wednesday, Thursday

This year's Harvest Moon, the closest moon to the to the autumnal equinox, is due to show up in the sky on Wednesday and Thursday.

The moon will reach its fullest phase at 7:13 a.m. Thursday and it will be at its brightest overnight Wednesday.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Harvest Moon, also known as the Full Corn Moon, gets its name because it was very helpful for farmers who needed to harvest their crops by moonlight. The Harvest moon rises earlier than usual.

"Throughout the year, the moon rises, on average, about 50 minutes later each day,” NASA explained. “But near the autumnal equinox … the day-to-day difference in the local time of moonrise is only 30 minutes.”

This year the Harvest Moon is expected to rise at 6:30 p.m. EST, long before nightfall.

Though the Harvest Moon is usually affiliated with the fall, is it technically the fourth (or last) moon of the summer season.