Do you have plans this weekend?

Whatever they are and wherever you are, you should take the time to check out the upcoming Full Beaver Supermoon, which takes place Friday at 4:28 PM, and watch for Leonid Meteors streaking across the sky on the predicted peak of the meteor shower on Saturday evening. into the early morning hours of Sunday.

November’s full moon will also be the last supermoon of 2024, a phrase that has become part of our popular culture in recent years, but has been around since 1979.

To be clear, “supermoon” is not an astronomical term. In each monthly lunar cycle, as our moon orbits the Earth, it 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, it is a supermoon. This can happen several times a year. On Friday we will even complete a stretch of four supermoons in a row. There won’t be another one until October 2025.

At sunset on Friday you’ll see the glorious Full Beaver Supermoon rising in the east. Use this website to find the precise sun and moon rising and setting times for your location.

To observe the moon, try to find a horizon to the east and west that is free of obstacles so that you can see it when it is close to both horizons. The moon may have some color and may appear large due to the moon illusion. The supermoon is actually larger than an average full moon, but is difficult to see with the eye. The supermoon will also be brighter, which may be obvious to observers.

If you want to photograph the Full Beaver Supermoon, follow these tips. As an added bonus, the supermoon will be located near the Pleiades or Seven Sisters star cluster. The very bright moon makes these beautiful stars harder to see, but they are a worldwide favorite in the winter night sky. Brilliant Jupiter will also be near the moon this weekend, making for quite the sky scene.

The moon will influence our next meteor shower, the Leonids, with its bright moonlight. East Coast skies had a very bright fireball visitor this week that most likely came from the Northern Taurid Meteor Shower. The Leonids can produce some spectacular meteors themselves, so it’s worth looking up at the sky and photographing them.

Be sure to check the WTOP weather forecast before you go.

Follow Greg Redfern Facebook, X and his daily blog to stay up to date with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration.

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