November’s supermoon will shine brightly tonight as clear skies will enable people to see the last one of the year.
Rising at around 3.30pm today, the Beaver Moon will illuminate the dark, clear sky – this will be the last supermoon until the end of 2025.
November 15 marks the end of a run of four consecutive supermoons, with last month’s being named ‘Hunter’.
Although the moon this evening will not be as bright as the one prior, many people across the UK will be able to enjoy the bright glow.
Full Moons are named to reflect what is happening in nature. The moon tonight is named ‘Beaver’ reportedly due to beavers being particularly active at this time of year in preparation for the winter ahead.
According to experts, the Beaver Moon will reach peak illumination at about 9.25pm tonight.
A supermoon shines up to 15% brighter than the average full moon with it appearing 30% larger too. This is a result of the moon reaching its closest point to the Earth. This is known as the ‘perigee’, contrasting with its farthest point named ‘apogee’.
When the Moon orbits around the Earth, it is not in a perfect circle – its distance between can vary at any given time.
Supermoons are not incredibly rare as they appear three of four times each year.
This year has already brought three consecutive supermoons – the Blue moon in August, September’s Harvest moon and the Hunter’s moon in October, which was the brightest of all.
The Beaver Moon, although not as bright as the previous three, will be around 14,000 miles closer to the world than usual. As the next supermoon won’t appear in the skies until October 2025, it will be worth catching a glimpse.
Unfortunately, large areas of cloud are predicted to cover parts of Northern England and Northern Ireland, meaning it may be trickier for people in those areas to spot it easily.
However, people in the south of England, East Anglia, Wales and the Midlands can expect to catch sight of the moon as skies will remain clear in the early evening.
For those in Scotland, the evening will start off cloudy, yet will clear out later into the night allowing for a supermoon sighting.
