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November’s full moon, also known as the beaver moon, will shine brightly in the sky on Friday as the last supermoon of the year.

For skygazers observing the golden orb this weekend, the Leonid meteor shower could provide a dazzling bonus video as it peaks Saturday night into early Sunday, according to the American Meteor Society.

The beaver moon — named as a nod to hibernation and the animal’s thicker coats this time of year — will reach the top of its full phase on Friday at 4:29 p.m. ET, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. But the moon will appear full to the naked eye about a day before and after its zenith, said Noah Petro, chief of NASA’s Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Laboratory.

“There is a time when the moon is at its fullest, but if it is cloudy or you are busy and go out the day before, later in the evening or at a different time the next day, you will still see the beauty that there is. the full moon,” Petro said.

A supermoon occurs when the moon’s full phase coincides with its perigee, the closest approach to Earth in its orbit, according to NASA, making the moon appear slightly larger and brighter than average.

November’s full moon is the fourth supermoon in a row this year and will be slightly further away than October’s full moon, the closest moon of 2024 and captured in photos around the world.

But the beaver moon could still provide a special spectacle. Petro recommends watching the moon as it rises for a chance to catch a ‘moon illusion’ as it climbs above the horizon, where the supermoon could even look bigger than normal.

Scientists don’t really know why this optical illusion happens, but it is believed to result from a combination of the way our brains process visual information and the size of the moon compared to smaller objects on the horizon, such as trees or the roofs of houses.

In addition to observations from Earth, current space missions such as NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been collecting data about the moon since 2009, are helping to advance our understanding of the moon, Petro said.

“We are still mapping the moon. We are still in the process of uncovering its secrets,” he said. “So when people go out and look at the moon, know that you are not just looking at a beautiful object in the night sky, but somewhere around it is orbiting a small spacecraft that is staging our view of the moon and its history. .”

If local weather conditions permit, those in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres will be able to see the Beaver Moon as well as a Leonid meteor shining brightly in the night sky.

How to view the Leonids

The Leonid meteor shower tends to produce 15 meteors per hour during its peak, but because of the moon’s full brightness that will obscure the visibility of fainter meteors, viewing conditions this weekend may only produce about five meteors per hour, Robert said Lunsford, the fireball. report coordinator for the American Meteor Society.

For patient skygazers looking to spy a meteor, Lunsford recommends looking east with the moon out of your field of view.

“Look halfway across the sky, as most meteors will appear in the lower half of the sky,” Lunsford said in an email. “View it as late as possible, as more Leonids will be seen before dawn than at midnight.”

For amateur astronomers who want to get involved in collecting data on space objects, Lunsford pointed to online fireball report forms that can help scientists study meteor shower activity, such as those from the International Meteor Organization.

“From these reports, astronomers will get a better idea of ​​when Earth will encounter these meteors and the strength of this activity,” he added. “This will allow them to make more accurate predictions for future Leonid showers.”

Upcoming celestial events

According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the last full moon of 2024 is the cold moon on December 15.

According to the American Meteor Society, the Leonids will be visible in the night sky until the end of the shower on December 2. If you’re interested in seeing more, two upcoming meteor showers will peak next month:

Geminids: December 12-13

Ursids: December 21-22

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