Australian stargazers are in for a celestial spectacle tonight, with a dazzling “super beaver moon” lighting up the night sky, followed by an impressive meteor display later this month.
The beaver moon is the traditional name for November’s full moon, and this year it will be unusually bright and large as it coincides with the moon’s closest point to Earth — just 356,980 kilometres away. That makes it a “supermoon”, appearing up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than a normal full moon.
Dr Matthew Shaw of Swinburne University said Australians across the country will be able to enjoy the sight. “It’s not a short event like an eclipse — just head outside after sunset on November 5 and you’ll see it,” he said.
In Victoria, the supermoon will rise just before 8pm and reach its peak around midnight. The best view, astronomers say, is when it appears on the horizon soon after sunset, glowing large against the darkening sky.
The “beaver moon” name is believed to come from North American folklore, referring to the time when beavers build their dams before winter — or when early settlers set traps for them.
If you miss tonight’s spectacle, there’s still more to come. The “super cold moon” will appear on December 5, marking another chance to see the lunar orb in full brilliance. “The moon doesn’t actually get colder in December,” Dr Shaw added with a smile, “it’s just the name.”
Adding to November’s cosmic calendar, the Leonids meteor shower will streak across Australian skies from next week, peaking in the early hours of November 17 and 18.
The annual event occurs as Earth passes through debris left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Under dark skies, up to 15 meteors per hour may be visible. The shower takes its name from the constellation Leo, from which the meteors appear to radiate.
The Leonids are known for producing one of history’s most spectacular meteor storms in 1966, when thousands of meteors flashed across the sky in just minutes — a moment astronomers still describe as “meteors falling like rain.”
