Post by Joanna on Nov 2, 2017 18:55:57 GMT -5
Full Beaver/Hunter's Moon November 4
The next full moon will appear in the night sky Saturday, November 4. This moon, known as the Full Beaver Moon, will be larger and brighter than average because it is closer to Earth than normal – only December’s full moon will be nearer.
All full moons have names that correspond with the timing of events when people were more reliant on the seasons. This year has been slightly unusual, however. September’s moon is normally the Harvest Moon because it is the time when many in North America harvest corn. However, the Harvest Moon is always the full moon that falls closest to the fall equinox – and this year, October’s moon was nearest the equinox.
November’s full moon was named Beaver Moon by early settlers who appropriated the name from Algonquin Indian tribes, because it was the time of year when people set traps for beavers – ensuring they had enough furs to last through the winter months. It is also known as the Full Frost Moon because this was the time of the first frost in many locations.
But this year is different for November’s moon is also the Hunter’s Moon or Blood Moon, which always falls after the Harvest Moon. With the latter taking place in September, the Hunter’s Moon has been pushed back, too. The Hunter’s Moon was also named by American Indians because it was the time when hunters killed deer and other animals in order to stockpile meat for the winter – hence Hunter’s or Blood.
Not a supermoon. Supermoons occur when a full moon coincides with the moon’s perigee – its closest point to Earth which makes the moon appear bigger and brighter than normal. This year’s event does not quite coincide. The perigee, when the moon will come within 224,587 miles of Earth, takes place a day earlier and on the night of the full moon, it will 2,000 miles farther away.
December’s moon will be a supermoon for it will reach perigee, a distance of 222,135 miles, in the very early hours of December 4, the night of the Cold Moon.
This month’s moon will reach its full phase at 1:23 a.m. (EDT). Moonrise on Saturday, November 4, is as follows:
Boothbay Harbor, Maine - 6:13 p.m.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama - 6:45 p.m.
Pierre, South Dakota - 7:19 p.m.
Pasadena, California - 6:50 p.m.
Sources: Hannah Osborne, Newsweek, November 2, 2017, and The Old Farmers Almanac.