Skywatchers are set for a spectacle on Wednesday night as a super beaver moon lights up Australian skies.
Beaver moon is the name of the first full moon in November every year, but what makes this one so special is that it’s also occurring when the moon is quite close to Earth in its orbit — making it a super full moon that will appear very large as it rises.
The beaver moon will come within 356,980 kilometres of Earth.
Swinburne University researcher Dr Matthew Shaw said that unlike some astronomical events, all Australians would be able to see Wednesday’s super beaver moon.
“It’s not a specific, short event like an eclipse. So, just head outside at night on November 5 and you’ll see it,” he said.
The beaver moon will start rising just before sunset — shortly before 8pm for Victorians — and peak about midnight.
The best way to enjoy a supermoon is when it climbs above the horizon just after sunset, and appears super-sized.
A supermoon can appear up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than a regular full moon.
The beaver moon is widely believed to be so named because it appears at a time of year when beavers in North America become particularly busy building their dams in preparation for the harsh winter, and make the most of the full moon’s bright light to make progress.
However, others say the name harks back to Native Americans setting beaver traps in November.
If you miss the super beaver moon, don’t fret.
Dr Shaw says you can still catch the super cold moon in a month’s time, on December 5.
“This, of course, is just another name,” he said.
“The moon doesn’t get colder in December, don’t worry.”
METEOR SHOWERS
By Emma Kirk
A stunning meteor shower will also light up the Australian night sky throughout November as the Earth passes through debris left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle.
The annual Leonids meteor will stream across the sky from Monday before it peaks around the morning of November 17 and 18.
The meteor shower will last until early next month as the Earth passes through the meteor stream in space, EarthSky reported.
The astronomy based website reported the meteor would rise about midnight and be at its highest peak in the sky at dawn.
The astronomers said it might be possible to see up to 15 Leonid meteors per hour under a dark sky with no moon.
“The famous Leonids meteor shower produced one of the greatest meteor storms in living memory,” EarthSky stated on its website.
“Rates were as high as thousands of meteors per minute during a 15-minute span on the morning of November 17, 1966.
“That night, Leonids meteors did, briefly, fall like rain. Some who witnessed it had a strong impression of Earth moving through space, fording the meteor stream.”
The meteor shower is named Leonids because it emerges from the star constellation Leo that takes about 33 years to orbit around the sun.
