When is the next full moon? Here's when November's Beaver Moon is and the best time to watch

Joyce Orlando, USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read

The year is almost over, and on Friday we see the final supermoon of 2024.

November's full moon, known as the Beaver Moon, will peak tomorrow and is the fourth and final time stargazers will be able to see a supermoon in 2024. Like October's full moon, the Beaver Moon won't be at full peak at night, but there will be plenty of moonlight to be seen heading into the weekend.

Along with the full moon, there will be other celestial light shows heading into the weekend in the form of the Taurids and the Leonids meteor showers. Stargazers might be able to see some shooting stars starting around Saturday, Nov. 16, or Sunday, Nov. 17, with about 10-15 meteors per hour after midnight.

Here's a look at when you'll get the best view of the full moon in Tennessee and just why it is called the Beaver Moon.

When is the next full moon?

The November full moon will reach its peak Friday, Nov. 15, at 4:29 p.m. ET/ 3:29 p.m. CT. And while it is still daylight out during the peak, watchers can get an (almost) full view starting Thursday night into Saturday, according to EarthSky.org.

Why is the November full moon called the Beaver Moon?

November became known as the Beaver Moon because this is the time of year when beavers are building their dams before the ground freezes in winter it also happens to be the best time for trappers to catch beavers, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

But the beaver isn't the only animal recognized during this full moon.

  • Deer Rutting Moon: Used by the Cheyenne of the Great Plains

  • Panther Moon: Used by the Choctaw in the Southeastern region

  • Fledgling Hawk Moon: Used by the Hopi of the Southwest

  • Turkey Moon: Is used by the Potawatomi in The Great Lakes region.

Other Indigenous people used names to describe the weather for the November full moon, according to the Almanac.

  • Moon of Much White Frost On Grass: Is used by the Algonquin.

  • Frost Moon: Is another name used by the Assiniboine in the Northern Plains and Creek in the Southeast.

Why is the moon so big? What is a supermoon?

The moon is going to look pretty big this month because it is the last supermoon of a four-part celestial series stargazers got to see in 2024.

A supermoon occurs when the moon is at its closest approach, or perigee, to the Earth in its 27-day orbit. The moon also needs to be at the full phase, which happens every 29.5 days, according to Space.com. Usually, supermoons only occur a few times a year at the most, which is due to changes in the moon's orbital orientation while the Earth orbits the sun.

Even though supermoons might only happen a couple of times a year, we got to see four in a row in 2024.

August was the first in the series of four supermoons, while the closest supermoon to the Earth happened on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 6:26 CT/7:26 a.m. ET.

What are the different full moons called? When will they be?

Each full moon has its own name. Here in North America, we take the names for the full moons from Indigenous peoples usually from different areas of North America.

In the 1930s the Maine Farmers' Almanac began publishing names used among the Algonquin tribes from New England on west to Lake Superior. Here's a look at when other full moons are expected to happen in 2024, according to NASA:

  • Nov. 15, Beaver Moon

  • Dec. 15, Cold Moon

When is the first full moon of 2025?

The first full moon of the new year takes place on Monday, Jan. 13, according to the Farmer's Almanac.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: When is November's full moon: Here's when to view the Beaver Moon