November’s Super Beaver Moon will be the brightest of 2025 and part of a supermoon parade
The moon will be at its peak of the year in early November when the Super Beaver Moon appears on the horizon.
The brilliance of this particular supermoon will shine between November 3 and 5, 2025, with the best time to view it being early in the morning of November 5, 2025. Although 2025 has a total of eight supermoons, the Castor Supermoon is special because it is the closest full moon to Earth this year. It also occurs in the middle of a supermoon parade – four consecutive months in which a supermoon will appear.
Learn more: The Moon moves away from Earth every year, and the tides are the reason
Why is it called the Super Beaver Moon?
The November supermoon goes by many names, the two most common being the Hunter’s Moon and the Beaver’s Moon. These names are usually inspired by or associated with indigenous cultures or European folklore.
This time of year marks two important beaver-related activities: the time when beavers begin to hunker down in their well-stocked shelters for the winter months and, since they have banded together to deal with incoming bad weather, the time when beavers are often hunted for their pelts.
Even though there are many different names for the November moon, they all relate to the fact that November is the time when animals and humans prepare for the approaching change of season. Other names include Digging Moon, a Tlingit name referring to foraging, and Whitefish Moon, from the Algonquin, which coincides with the spawning season of this fish species.
What will the Super Beaver Moon look like?
The Beaver supermoon is the closest supermoon to Earth in 2025, located approximately 221,817 miles from Earth at its peak. It’s this closeness that makes full moons “super” – not in size, but in brightness.
What makes supermoons special isn’t their size. A supermoon is technically larger than the average full moon, but only by about 7%, which is not enough of a change in size to be noticeable to the untrained eye.
There is, however, a noticeable difference in its color, with the super Beaver Moon expected to glow a brilliant orange just in time for late fall.
The orange hue will be most visible as the moon rises over the horizon at sunset. And the color change is not just a visual effect but a physical effect caused by the atmosphere.
Earth’s atmosphere is quite thick along the horizon compared to that directly above us. The thicker the atmosphere, the more red light becomes perceptible to the human eye. When the Castor Supermoon is in this perfect spot, it will shine in brilliant, luminous hues of red, orange, and yellow.
Why do people think supermoons are big?
The term “supermoon” is not that old, since it was only invented in 1979 by astrologer Richard Nolle. After its creation, the word took off and became part of the pop culture vernacular.
Although frequently used by the average person, “supermoon” is not a popular word among astronomers, who often claim that the term creates unwarranted hype and leaves people disappointed when the moon does not appear as large as its name suggests.
Even if it doesn’t seem any bigger, a supermoon can have big effects. Supermoons can cause higher than usual tides, called king tides. These high tides are not guaranteed with a supermoon and depend on local coastlines and weather conditions.
Learn more: From a pink moon to blue, the colors of the Moon are not always colorful
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