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The Beaver Moon reaches its full peak on Monday, Nov. 30, 2020, at 4:30 a.m. EST. The moon will look full just after sunset on Sunday evening. Traditionally the Native Americans and colonial Americans used the monthly Moon’s and nature’s corresponding signs as a way to track the seasons.
They referred to it as the Beaver Moon due to this being the time of year when beavers began to seek shelter from the cold winter months. Back when fur trading was major in North America this was the season to trap beavers for their thick winter pelts.
November’s Full Moon has also been called the Frost(y) Moon or the Freezing Moon. Due to the fact, this is when the chilly weather rolls in — it is easy to see how these names came about.
The Beaver Moon has also been called the Digging or Scratching Moon. This name describes what animals do to forage for food during the colder months.
The Beaver Moon will also include a lunar eclipse this year. This is when the Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow. The penumbral lunar eclipse — Earth’s outer edge shadow — will darken the Moon by 83 percent.
For those who have never seen a Full Moon lunar eclipse — the Moon will go from a bright, white orb to a dim grey color for a few hours. This will give people a unique glimpse of the Beaver Moon to photograph.
The year 2020 has had three penumbral lunar eclipses. The eclipse during the Full Beaver Moon will conclude the year’s penumbral lunar eclipses.
In order to view this phenomenon, one must position themselves at 9:42 Universal Time (UT). This means it will happen at 4:42 a.m. EDT and 1:42 PDT on November 30. At this time the eclipse will be at its peak. The Moon will begin to drift into the Erth’s outer shadow around 7:32 UT and will exit the shadow around 11:53 UT.
This time translates to 2:32 a.m. through 6:53 a.m. EDT. For those who live in the PDT, this will be 11:32 p.m. on November 29 through 3:53 a.m. on November 30. These are just rough time period’s when the eclipse will happen. Where a person lives depends on when they will be able to glimpse the Full Beaver Moon eclipse.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Almanac: FULL MOON FOR NOVEMBER 2020 LOOK FOR NOVEMBER’S FULL BEAVER MOON! by The Editors
Travel and Leisure: How to See a Frosty Moon Eclipse and a Gorgeous Full Moonrise Next Week by Jamie Carter
Forbes: A ‘Beaver Moon Eclipse’ Meets Mars And The Seven Sister Stars: What You Can See In The Night Sky This Week by Jamie Carter
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Graham Robertson’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of Abhijit Tembhekar’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
