With the harvest moon scheduled to shine Saturday, September 17, our video shows why it's so big and bright, how it got its name, and more.

September 16, 2005—For a few evenings every September, you may notice an unusually large moon hanging low on the horizon. It's the full harvest moon, so called because it appears when traditional Native American staples—corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, wild rice—are ready for harvesting.

This moon, whose brightness allowed farmhands to work long into the night, is the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox, when day and night are in almost perfect balance with one another.

—Craig Moorhead and Ted Chamberlain