Across continents and through diverse skylines, a celestial spectacle unfolded on the night of November 5, 2025, as a full moon commanded global attention. This particular lunar display is poised to be the year’s most impressive, drawing eyes skyward with its exceptional size and brilliance, making it the largest and brightest supermoon of the entire year.
Known popularly as the ‘Beaver Moon,’ this November full moon carries a name steeped in tradition. While not a scientific designation, these monikers often trace back to the Farmer’s Almanac, which historically linked lunar cycles to natural events on Earth. The ‘Beaver Moon’ references the period when these industrious rodents are most active, preparing their lodges and gathering supplies for the harsh winter months ahead. Other cultures observed different natural cues, leading to alternative names such as the ‘Digging Moon’ for bears readying their dens, or the ‘Deer Rut Moon,’ marking the time when deer seek mates.
Beyond these evocative names, however, lies the specific astronomical phenomenon that made this November moon particularly striking: its classification as a ‘supermoon.’ The term ‘supermoon,’ while widely used in popular discourse, describes a full moon that occurs when our celestial neighbor is within 90 percent of its perigee. Perigee is the point in the moon’s elliptical orbit when it is closest to Earth. This proximity makes the moon appear significantly larger and brighter from our perspective, in stark contrast to a ‘micromoon,’ which occurs near apogee, its farthest orbital point. Observers can expect a supermoon to look up to 14 percent larger and shine as much as 30 percent brighter than a typical full moon.
For the 2025 event, the moon reached its full phase at approximately 1:19 PM UTC on November 5, preceding by mere hours its closest approach to Earth, known as perigee. This precise alignment ensured that the full brilliance and amplified size of the moon were evident to observers across the globe, whether caught in the twilight or the full darkness of night, depending on their geographical location.
Adding to the celestial tapestry, this supermoon appeared just a day after the peak of the Southern Taurid meteor shower. While some might have caught a glimpse of these meteors – potentially appearing faintly near the lower left of the lunar disc – the sheer luminosity of a full supermoon often diminishes the visibility of fainter astronomical phenomena. The moon’s radiant presence effectively outshines the delicate trails of falling stars.
Ultimately, whether called the ‘Beaver Moon’ or simply the supermoon, November’s full lunar event serves as a powerful reminder of both the predictable cycles of the cosmos and the diverse ways humanity has sought to understand and name the wonders above. It is a moment of collective observation, uniting those on Earth under a common, brilliant sky.