EYES TO THE SKIES FOR NOVEMBER’S FULL MOON - THE “BEAVER” MOON! ALSO A “SUPER” MOON! 💖🌕🔭🛰✨️ - 05/11/25
On the evening of the 5th into the morning of the 6th of November (weather permitting) we will hopefully be treated to views of November’s beautiful full moon which is known to some as the “Beaver” Moon.
This November’s full moon will also be what is known as a “Super” Moon, and will appear larger and brighter than usual too!
Although the full Moon may not always be the astrophotographer's best of friends, the full Moon always makes for a beautiful sight in the night sky and is an important marker of the seasons for many people.
If you would like to know more about this month’s full moon, what a Super Moon is, plus when and where to see the Beaver Moon, please read on…
WHAT IS A FULL MOON?
A full Moon occurs when its position in its orbit around Earth is at its furthest distance from the Sun (almost on the opposite side of the Earth compared to the Sun). This event, when the Earth stands almost directly between the Sun and Moon is also known as a Syzygy. When this happens, the side of the Moon that can be seen from Earth is completely illuminated, giving it the appearance of being full.
On rare occasions the Earth can stand directly in between the Sun and Moon resulting in a lunar eclipse.
WHAT IS A SUPER MOON?
October’s full moon is what we call a super moon and will be the first of three consecutive super moons this year.
The term super moon is the more popular way of referring to an astronomical event known to scientists as perigee-syzygy. This describes the confluence of two events:
Perigee, when the moon is at its closest to Earth along its orbit of our planet (at least 90% perigee means the moon constitutes as a super moon) in fact the moon will be only around 360,000 km away from Earth at the point of perigee-syzygy.
Syzygy, when the Earth, Moon and Sun are aligned making the Moon fully illuminated (a full moon).
During a super moon the Moon will appear brighter and larger than an average full moon. On average, super moons are said to be about 7% bigger and about 15% brighter than a typical full Moon. According to NASA, a super moon will appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the smallest full moon (when the Moon is at apogee, it’s furthest distance away from Earth).
THE "BEAVER" MOON
The full moon of each month has been given names by many cultures and peoples throughout history. The most commonly known full moon names are derived from Native American tribes. The Native American tribes gave distinctions to moons based on the time of year and the weather’s relationships to crop harvests and appearance of certain animals or animal behaviours.
The Full Moon for the month of November is often called the Beaver Moon. There is disagreement over the origin of November's moon name. Some say it comes from Native Americans setting beaver traps during this month, while others say the name comes from the heavy activity of beavers building their winter dams in preparation for the cold season. The beaver is mainly nocturnal, so they keep working under the light of the Full Moon.
OTHER ALTERNATIVE MOON NAMES
Other names for November’s full moon highlight the actions of animals preparing for winter and the onset of the colder days ahead. Digging (or Scratching) Moon, a Tlingit name, evokes the image of animals foraging for fallen nuts and shoots of green foliage, and of bears digging their winter dens. The Dakota and Lakota term Deer Rutting Moon refers to the time when deer are seeking out mates and the Algonquin Whitefish Moon describes the spawning time for this fish.
In reference to the seasonal change of November, this Moon has been called the Frost Moon by the Cree and Assiniboine peoples and the Freezing Moon by the Anishinaabe—for good reason, as winter is right around the corner!
WHEN AND WHERE WILL THE FULL MOON OCCUR?
This month, the Moon will reach peak illumination around 13:23 GMT on the afternoon of the 5th of November. This means the night where the Moon will appear most full will be the night of the 5th into the morning of the 6th.
The Moon will rise in the afternoon of the 5th at around 15:42 GMT towards the North-East. As the night progresses the Moon will climb in the sky travelling Southwards. The Moon will reach an altitude of 57 degrees at its highest point in the sky at roughly 00:06 GMT on the morning of the 6th towards the South. Following this, the Moon will begin to descend travelling towards the North-West where it will set in the morning skies at around 08:58 GMT.
Remember that you don’t really need to know the exact time of peak illumination to enjoy viewing the full Moon, as the Moon will appear full throughout the night and on the nights surrounding the peak.
WHERE AMONG THE STARS CAN THE MOON BE FOUND?
On the night of the 5th our natural satellite will be hitching a ride in the zodiacal constellation of Aries - the ram.
More specifically, the Moon can be found around 10 degrees to the right of the Pleiades open star cluster (aka the Seven Sisters) and roughly half way between the bright stars Hamal of Aries and Aldebaran of Taurus.
The zodiacal constellation of Aries can be found in between the constellations of Pisces and Taurus, and beneath the constellations of Perseus and Andromeda.
LUNAR OBSERVATION
The great thing about observing the Moon is that you don’t have to go and find a particularly dark location to view it. As the Moon is such a bright object in the sky, you can view it from brighter locations, even from the centre of a heavily light polluted city. Weather permitting of course.
MOON RISE/SET – MOON ILLUSION
It's always lovely to watch the moon rise/set, so if you can head out to witness the Moon rise or set, please do. Every time the Moon rises and sets it takes on a beautiful golden, amber colour and appears larger at this time too, due to an optical illusion known as the ‘Moon illusion’. It's truly special to witness. As it rises and glides higher, it’s colour will transition into a bright white.
Sometimes the Moon can appear even more orangey red than usual too! The hue of the moon typically depends on atmospheric conditions wherever you’re viewing it from. Things like clouds, dust, haze, smoke or pollution can cause the moon to appear different colours by scattering much of the blue light shining onto our natural satellite, leaving it with a more reddish tone.
OTHER CELESTIAL TREATS
There are a number of other celestial treats about at this moment in time too. Here is a small selection of celestial treats to look out for:
- We have a number of meteor showers active at this moment in time including the famous Leonid meteor shower. Although the full moon will drown out all but the brightest of these meteors, it is still worth keeping an eye out for those beautiful streaks of light known as shooting stars.
- The asterism known as the Summer Triangle is a prominent asterism in our current night time skies and can help you find where to view our home galaxy the Milky Way. The brightest stars of the constellations Cygnus, Lyra and Aquila – the stars Deneb, Vega and Altair respectively, create a huge triangle in the night sky known as the Summer Triangle. They are located in a bright section of the Milky Way known as the Cygnus region. The body of the swan Cygnus also creates a cross like shape known as the Northern Cross. If you follow the length of the cross and continue tracing along the direction of this line, this can show you where the rest of the Milky Way stretches across the sky.
- Our closest galactical neighbour, the amazing Andromeda Galaxy can be spotted to the eye as a small, faint and fuzzy elliptical shape in the constellation of Andromeda.
- The radiant open star cluster the Pleaides (aka the Seven Sisters) can be found in the constellation of Taurus.
- We are now truly within what many people consider the Aurora season! Due to the skies becoming darker and the nights becoming longer, chances of viewing the Aurora are now much higher and the Aurora may now be seen dancing on our Northern horizons on nights of strong auroral activity. Typically the bright Moon tends to wash the aurora out, however occasionally there are displays that are so strong they are visible despite the moonlight.
This November is also a fairly good time to spot some bright planets…
- For the early birds or all night stargazers, the brilliantly bright planet Venus can currently be fairly easily seen shining brightly at an impressive magnitude of -3.92 towards the East in the early morning just before sunrise.
- The amazing ringed planet Saturn is now very easy to spot riding high in the night sky and will appear to the right of the Moon. Saturn can currently be observed in the constellation of Aquarius below the great square of Pegasus.
- The gas giant Jupiter is also now fairly easy to spot located in the constellation of Gemini during the early morning skies. Look to the East during the early morning hours and you will be able to spot the bright planet Jupiter.
GET A CLOSER LOOK
If you own a pair of binoculars or a telescope, you can get an even closer look at the Moon, stars and other celestial treats, revealing fantastic details. The Moon with its mares and craters, the planets, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Pleiades star cluster are all amazing to view using binoculars or a telescope.
WHAT ELSE IS IN THE NIGHT SKY THROUGHOUT NOVEMBER?
If you would like to know more about the rest of the celestial treats that can be seen in the skies throughout November, please head to our YouTube channel to watch our Night Sky Guide video for November 2025.
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES AND PHOTOGRAPHS!
We always love hearing about your celestial adventures and seeing your photographs! If you head out to witness or capture photos of this special celestial event or any other sights in the night sky, please feel free to share your stories in the comments below. 😊
GOOD LUCK AND CLEAR SKIES
This month’s full Moon will be a beautiful sight, and with it being a Super Moon will make it even more special! So if you can, we recommend heading out to witness this November’s full Super Moon!
Good luck if you head out folks. Wrap up warm if you do. Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Clear skies 💖
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