Got plans this weekend?
Whatever they are and wherever you are, you should make time to take a peek at the rising Full Beaver Supermoon, which happens Friday at 4:28 p.m. and see if any Leonid Meteors are streaking through the sky on the meteor shower’s predicted peak Saturday night into Sunday’s predawn hours.
November’s full moon will also be 2024’s last supermoon, a phrase that has become part of our popular culture in recent years, but has been around since 1979.
Just to be clear, “supermoon” is not an astronomical term. In each monthly lunar cycle, while orbiting the Earth, our moon has a point where it is closest to the Earth, or “perigee,” and when it is farthest, or “apogee.”
When the Full Moon occurs within 90% of perigee, that is when it is a supermoon. This can occur several times a year. In fact, on Friday, we are finishing a stretch of four supermoons in a row. There will not be another one until October 2025.
At Friday’s sunset, you will see the glorious Full Beaver Supermoon rising to the east. To find out precise times when the sun and moon rise and set for your location, use this website.
To observe the moon, try to find a horizon in the east and west that are clear of obstructions so you can see it when it is near both horizons. The moon may have some color and it may appear large due to the Moon Illusion. The supermoon is actually bigger than an average full moon but is hard to detect by eye. The supermoon will also be brighter, which may be apparent to observers.
If you want to photograph the Full Beaver Supermoon, follow these tips. As an added bonus, the supermoon will be very near the Pleiades or Seven Sisters star cluster. The very bright moon will make these beautiful stars harder to see, but they are a worldwide favorite of the winter night sky. Brilliant Jupiter will be near the moon too for the weekend, making for quite the sky scene.
The moon, with its bright moonlight, will affect our next meteor shower, the Leonids. The skies of the East Coast had a very bright fireball visitor this week that was most likely from the Northern Taurid Meteor Shower. The Leonids can produce some spectacular meteors of their own, so it is worth watching and photographing the sky.
Be sure to check the WTOP weather forecast before you go.
Follow Greg Redfern on Facebook, X and his daily blog to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration.
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