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When is the best time to watch November's Full Beaver Supermoon? Don't miss the last Supermoon of 2024!

The last of the four supermoons in 2024 is coming soon to the sky this month. Here’s when and where you can see the Beaver Supermoon at its fullest.

Don't miss the last Supermoon of 2024

Every year there are usually between three and four supermoons. Fortunately for stargazers, 2024 was blessed with four of the bigger and brighter than normal full moons. However, the last supermoon of the year will take to the sky on Friday.

The Beaver Moon will be at its fullest starting at 4:29 pm EST on November 15, according to NASA. However, for a couple days before and after it will appear as if it is full.

Why is it called the “Beaver Moon”?

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the full moon that occurs in November is called the ‘Beaver Moon.’ The names given to each month’s full moon originated from Native American, Colonial American, and European folklore.

In the case of the Beaver Moon, people observed that during this time of year, beavers would begin to hibernate after collecting enough food to survive the winter season. It was also the time of year that fur traders would trap the semiaquatic rodents as their highly sought after pelts to make winter coats and hats would be primed for the cold months ahead.

It was also given other names by different tribes across North American based on the habitual activities of wildlife around this time of year, like Digging Moon, because animals dig burrows to hibernate and Deer Rutting Moon, deer seek mates at this time of year. And then there are the names Frost Moon and Freezing Moon due to winter weather setting in as the days get shorter and nights longer.

How to catch a glimpse of the Hunter super full moon
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How to take a picture of the supermoon?

If you are looking to catch the perfect photo of the supermoon there are some tools that can help you. For your smartphone there is a useful app, PhotoPills, available for iOS and Android. So that you can make the most of using the app PetaPixel gives a walk through of the app’s features.

What makes a full moon a supermoon?

As for why it is a super moon, they occur when the moon is full at the same time as its closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, or perigee. A full moon is considered a supermoon, not an official astronomical term, when it comes within 90 percent of perigee. They always appear consecutively three or four times a year.

On average, supermoons appear about 7 percent bigger and about 15 percent brighter than a typical full moon. Compared to the moon at its faintest, a supermoon is roughly 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter.

Catching sight of the event as it comes into view will make it seem even bigger than it really is thanks to the ‘big moon illusion’. To know exactly where it will appear on the horizon there is an online application MoonCalc, which will come in useful if you want to take a picture.

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