Torontonians can see the last Supermoon of 2024 this week, Canada Reviews

Torontonians can catch a glimpse of the fourth Supermoon of 2024 in a few days! According to space.com, November’s Full Moon ‘Beaver Moon’ will take place this Fri. Nov. 15., and will peak at 4:26 p.m. Eastern Time in Toronto.

The ‘Beaver Moon’ will be the last of four consecutive Supermoons that took place this year, beginning with August’s Blue Moon, followed by Supermoons on Sept. 18 and Oct. 17.

The Farmer’s Almanac references the monthly Full Moons with names tied to early Native American folklore. According to the Almanac, in 1979, astrologer Richard Nolle came up with the term “Supermoon” to describe either a New Moon or a Full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth.

This upcoming Full Moon is called the “Beaver” Moon as it’s the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges, as they prepare for the long winter ahead. Due to the seasonal changes in November (and because winter is around the corner), this Moon has also been dubbed the Frost Moon by the Cree and Assiniboine peoples and the Freezing Moon by the Anishinaabe!

If you miss the Supermoon, then there are other celestial activities you can look out for this year. Nov. 16 will be the best time to view the planet Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky (look for the planet toward the west just after sunset). Nov. 17 will be the best time to view Uranus — the planet will be at its closest approach to Earth, so its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. Although Uranus will be brighter than any other time of the year and visible all night long, due to its distance, it’ll only appear as a tiny blue-green dot via a powerful telescope, but still worth a look for astronomy lovers.

From Nov. 17-18, the Leonids Meteor Shower will take place, producing up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak! Unfortunately, the near-Full Moon will block all but the brightest meteors this year but you still might be able to catch a few good ones (just view from a dark location after midnight — meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo but can appear anywhere in the sky). Don’t forget the Geminids Meteor Shower, which is considered the king of meteor showers, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak! This will run from Dec. 7-17, peaking the night of the 13th and the morning of the 14th.

If you’re looking for a good place to Moon-gaze near Toronto, click here.