Skygazers ready for ‘really beautiful’ Beaver Moon
Skygazers will be able to see a moon brighter and larger than usual this weekend as it moves closer to Earth.
The “Beaver Moon” will appear around 14% larger in diameter and 30% brighter than usual.
The second “supermoon” of the year will be visible on Friday and Saturday night.
In the Northern Hemisphere, November’s full moon occurs at the time of year when hunters used to set traps before waters froze over to ensure a supply of warm furs for winter – hence the name Beaver Moon.
“It should be a really beautiful sight. It’s worth noting that the best time to see any object in the sky is when it’s as high it can be, so really around midnight,” said Tom Kerss, astronomer at Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples said: “There would have been some rain on the start of Saturday that clears away, and actually we get into much clearer skies as we go through Saturday evening and overnight, but there will be some showers in more northern and western areas.
The moon over the O2 Arena in south-east London
“There is a good chance of catching a glimpse of it.”
The moon has a slightly elliptical orbit – it does not move round the Earth in a perfect circle.
At some points the moon is about 5% closer to Earth than average, known as perigee, and at others 5% further away, known as apogee.
This month’s full moon will be 226,182 miles from Earth, closer than its average 238,900 miles.
It will reach the peak of its full phase at 5.23am on Saturday.
The first supermoon of the year was visible on January 12, and the third will fall on December 3.
The Press Association
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