Nov. 16 (UPI) — Friday marks the final supermoon of 2024, the last of four consecutive instances of the phenomenon to end the year.
On the U.S. East Coast, the Full Beaver Moon will be visible in its entirety beginning at 4:28 p.m. EST Friday, however it has already appeared near-full to observers over the last two days.
The Full Beaver Moon name is derived from the Old Farmer’s Almanac, with the name chosen because of the time of year. Beavers are typically getting ready to spend the cold weather in their lodges.
The first of the four consecutive supermoons took place in August.
A supermoon refers to an occasion “when a full moon coincides with the moon’s closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit,” according to a NASA definition.
The label was adopted in 1979 as an alternative to the technical term perigean moon used by astronomers.
In August, stargazers were treated to a rare Supermoon Blue Moon.
A Super Harvest Moon with a partial lunar eclipse took place in September.
Several planets will be visible in the sky Friday night, albeit at different points and for different lengths of time.
Mercury will be evident to anyone looking southwest, but the planet will drop below the horizon around an hour after sunset.
Slightly later, Venus will be among the first things visible in the night sky, gazing in a southwest direction. The second planet from the sun will drop out of view around 90 minutes following sunset.
To the south, Saturn will appear pale and yellow and remain in the sky until after midnight.
Jupiter will rise in the east around two hours after the Full Beaver Supermoon. Our solar system’s largest planet will remain visible through the following morning.
