The Full Beaver Moon will shine in the sky Friday evening, as the last supermoon of 2024 and the last supermoon we will see until the end of 2025.

If the skies are reasonably clear over the next three nights, take a few moments to pause, look up, and appreciate Earth’s celestial companion, the Moon. Although the Full Moon is scheduled precisely for 4:29 p.m. EST on Friday the 15th, according to NASA, it will actually have appear full from Thursday evening to Saturday evening.

What is the Beaver Moon?

Since the 1930s, the Farmer’s Almanacs has published a list of Full Moon names. The specific names they gave to the Full Moons of the year were adopted from American or European colonial folklore, as well as from lunar calendars used by the Algonquin peoples who lived in what is now the northeastern United States. -United States and the Great Lakes region.

The 12 Full Moons of 2024 are shown in this infographic, along with their popular names, details about the supermoons and micromoons (including which are closest (“perigee”) and furthest (“apogee”)), and whether they are remarkable in certain areas. otherwise (Moon Harvest, lunar eclipse, etc.). Credit: Scott Sutherland/NASA Science Visualization Studio/Fred Espenak

While names borrowed from American and European folklore – Harvest Moon and Hunter’s Moon – apply specifically to the Full Moon, those taken from indigenous sources do not. Instead, they are the names of the full 29-day “lunars” of the lunar calendar, each representing the period of time between one New Moon and the next. These lunations are the equivalent of the months of the Gregorian calendar.

The name most often used for the November Full Moon is the Beaver Moon.

“This is the time of year when beavers begin to shelter in their lodges, having built up enough food reserves for the long winter ahead. During the North American fur trade, it was also the season to trap beavers for their thick winters. -skins ready for use,” says The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Other names for this Full Moon derived from native lunar calendars include Frost Moon, Freezing Moon, Trading Moon, Whitefish Moon, and Digging/Scratching Moon.

This is what the Full Moon looked like on November 7, 2022 from Thunder Bay, Ontario. Credit: Hazel Clover/UGC

In other cultures, this Full Moon is a day of celebration or religious contemplation.

To mark the traditional end of the monsoon or rainy season, the Cambodian Water Festival (Bon Om Touk) begins, with three days of dragon boat races, while hot air balloons and fireworks fill the sky of Myanmar to celebrate the Tazaungdaing festival.

It also marks Il Full Moon Poya, a public holiday in Sri Lanka with cultural significance for those who practice Buddhism.

For Hindus, Jains and Sikhs, it is Kartik Purnima, celebrating the triumph of good over evil, the purging of sin and the birth of the Sikhs’ first guru.

Loy Krathong is celebrated in and around Thailand. It is a festival during which decorated baskets (krathong) are floated on the river to thank Phra Mae Khongkha, the goddess of waters, rivers, streams and canals.

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Last Super Moon of 2024

Of the 12 or 13 Full Moons that occur each year, between two and five will be “supermoons.” These are Full Moons that appear larger and brighter because they coincide with when the Moon is near or at its closest distance from Earth for that month.

The term “supermoon” was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, who defined it as “a Full or New Moon that occurs with the Moon at or near (90 percent of) its closest approach.” closer to Earth in a given orbit (perigee). ).”

In astronomical terms this is called Syzygy of perigee.

The four supermoons of 2024 compared to a more “typical” sized Full Moon from earlier in the year. (NASA SVS/Scott Sutherland)

In 2024, there will be four supermoons. The Full Moon on November 15 is the last of the year.

According to retired NASA scientist Fred Espenak, this Full Moon is about 13% brighter than the “average” Full Moon (such as June’s Strawberry Moon) and a little more than 25% brighter than a Corresponding “climax” Full Moon (such as the Full Moons of February or March of this year).

Due to the Moon’s slight change in orbit from month to month, future Full Moons will be progressively smaller and dimmer, leading up to the “climax micromoon” in April. Subsequently, they will become larger and brighter in our sky, with the next supermoon rising on October 6, 2025.

LEARN MORE: Why is the super moon so attractive to us?

It’s not alone

The Full Moon will definitely be the brightest thing in the night sky on Friday. However, if you look around you, you can also see a few other bright objects.

The Full Moon at midnight on the night of November 15-16 will be accompanied by Jupiter and Saturn, as well as several bright stars. (Stellarium)

The Moon’s second brightest planet will be Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, visible just east of the Moon throughout the night.

Jupiter is gaining brightness each night these days, as it approaches Opposition (its closest approach to Earth for this year) in early December. If you have a telescope or even a pair of powerful binoculars, you may be able to see all or part of Jupiter’s four brightest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

To the east of the Moon will also be one of the sky’s most recognizable constellations, Orion, with its bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel, and the famous “Orion’s Belt.” Sirius and Procyon can also be easily spotted, even by those trapped by suburban light pollution.

The Northern and Southern Taurid meteor showers burst from the night sky near the constellation Taurus. (Stellarium)

If you are under dark skies, away from city lights, you may also see flashes of light from the Taurid meteor showers. THE pics of these twin showers have already passed, but they still produce a handful of meteors per night. As residents of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan saw early Wednesday morning, some meteors may appear like exceptionally bright balls of fire!

Additionally, the Leonid meteor shower is expected to peak overnight from Saturday to Sunday.

The Leonid meteors radiate from the constellation Leo on the night of November 16 to 17, 2024. (Stellarium)

The best time to view the Leonids is after midnight, with the shower improving towards dawn as the radiant rises higher in the sky.

The Leonids typically deliver around 10 to 20 meteors per hour during their peak. However, because this only occurs one night after a supermoon, the number seen by observers will likely be about half that figure, as only the brightest meteors will shine in the moonlight.

Watch below: discover the Moon in all its phases for 2024 in less than 5 minutes

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(Thumbnail image courtesy cjwhitewine via Getty Images. Stock photo.)

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