November's full moon is going to be something special. Not only is it a supermoon, meaning Earth's lunar satellite will be slightly brighter and closer to us, but it's the last supermoon we'll see for a long time.
Friday's beaver moon will rise in Central Indiana beginning roughly around 5 p.m. before setting Saturday morning. It's the last of four back-to-back supermoons, which started with August's blue moon, September's harvest moon, and a super hunter's moon in October.
Here's what Hoosiers should know about this and other astronomical events happening in November.
Friday, Nov. 15, is when the Beaver Moon, a name derived from Native American, European and colonial sources, should reach peak illumination, according to NASA. The moon's phases this month are:
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, moonrise for the Indianapolis area will happen by roughly 5:06 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, before setting 7:15 a.m. Saturday.
Things are looking cold and cloudy for Central Indiana heading into the weekend, according the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. Here's the latest forecast as of Thursday:
The Beaver Moon takes its name from early Native American tribes as well as American colonists, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac, when beavers begin sheltering in their lodges after gathering enough food to last the winter. Fur trappers, the almanac stated, used this time also to hunt beavers for their pelts.
Other names for November's full moon from Native American tribes include the Whitefish Moon, Frost Moon, and the Deer Rutting Moon.
The "super" in supermoon often has more to do with its proximity to Earth and less, some say, than how it looks in size.
Supermoons can appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than the faintest moon of the year. Visually, that might not leave much of an impression, but the proximity of a supermoon has an effect on Earth, causing higher tides than normal.
Pretty darn close, at least by lunar standards. On Friday, the moon will be 224,385 miles away from our planet, according to NASA, making it a supermoon.
The moon's orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle, writes NASA. It varies in distance, from about 221,457 miles to 252,712 miles away. That's because of the constant tug of gravity between the moon, Earth and sun.
Not for a while. The next supermoon will happen in October 2025. Next month, December 2024's full moon will be fainter and further away by roughly 6,000 miles.
Supermoons only occur about three or four times a year. There will be three supermoons in 2025:
During a partial lunar eclipse, the moon passes through only part of the Earth's shadow, or umbra, entering into an imperfect alignment with the sun and Earth. As it does, the moon will appear to darken.
So why does it look red? According to NASA, that's because of how sunlight strikes the moon's surface after passing through our atmosphere.
Colors with shorter wavelengths, such as blues and violets, scatter more easily than colors with longer wavelengths, which include red and orange. The more dust or clouds in Earth's atmosphere during a lunar eclipse, the redder the moon appears.
If you plan on observing the night sky this month, writes NASA, keep the following dates in mind for October 2024:
The Beaver Moon should reach peak illumination by Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024.