Beaver moon: How to catch the last supermoon of 2024

Date:

Share post:


Stargazers can catch the full beaver moon on Friday afternoon and the final supermoon of the year will appear bigger and brighter than usual.

NASA says that the moon will reach peak illumination starting at 4:29 p.m. EST with the sun setting that evening just a few minutes later, at 4:38 p.m.

Supermoons occur as a regular part of the moon’s orbit of Earth, according to NASA research scientist Dennis Gallagher.

“The moon’s orbit takes it around the Earth about once every 27 and one-third days,” Gallagher said in a blog post. “That time of closest approach to Earth, or perigee, happens three or four times each year due to the motions of Earth and the moon around the sun.”

The beaver moon, of course, is named for the animal itself. Beavers are the largest living rodents in North America and are known for their long, flat tails which they use to swim faster, balance, and make loud alarm calls. With large orange teeth, they cut down trees and other vegetation for food and building materials.

A supermoon rises over Huntsville, Alabama, last August. Supermoons are the biggest and brightest full mons of the year. The last supermoon rise, the full beaver moon, rises on Friday. (Credits: NASA/Michael DeMocker)

A supermoon rises over Huntsville, Alabama, last August. Supermoons are the biggest and brightest full mons of the year. The last supermoon rise, the full beaver moon, rises on Friday. (Credits: NASA/Michael DeMocker)

November is the month that beavers fortify their dams and stock up on food, preparing for the harsh winter months.

It was also the month that hunters would trap beavers for their thick, winter clothing. Beavers were nearly eliminated from much of their normal range in the late 1800s because of unregulated trapping. Populations right now are stable and they’ve re-established much of that area. There are an estimated 15 million beavers in the US today.

Researchers are using NASA satellites to monitor impacts of beaver restoration on the landscape. The beavers help make places more resilient to drought and wildfire. (Credits: NASA/Boise State University)

Researchers are using NASA satellites to monitor impacts of beaver restoration on the landscape. The beavers help make places more resilient to drought and wildfire. (Credits: NASA/Boise State University)

And, beavers have additional significance for the space agency.

NASA helps to measure the impacts of beaver rewilding in Idaho. The project uses NASA’s Earth-observing satellites to track the landscape’s transformation after beavers arrive.

These efforts help researchers at local universities to better understand the pace and nuance of beaver impacts without having to send people into remote areas.

NASA said that data showed when the semiaquatic mammals build dams across streams, they naturally disperse and hold water on the land longer. This creates habitats and supports more plants.

The dams also create more fresh drinking water, make the landscape more resilient, and provide better grazing land for cattle.

“I think, in a lot of ways, this beaver idea is starting to catch on. I think a lot of people are realizing that without beavers these watersheds basically deteriorate,” Jay Wilde, an Idaho cattle rancher, told NASA last year.



Source link

Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams is a writer and editor. Angeles. She writes about politics, art, and culture for LinkDaddy News.

Recent posts

Related articles

USDA recalls 167K pounds of contaminated ground beef from Mich. producer

Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service says it has recalled...

Trump transition live updates: Pam Bondi named as new AG pick after Gaetz drops out

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, said Thursday he is withdrawing his...

Ex-sheriff indicted on murder charge in the slaying of a judge in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A former Kentucky sheriff was indicted Thursday in the slaying of a judge...

Rachel Maddow Takes Pay Cut With MSNBC’s Future in Jeopardy

MSNBC star Rachel Maddow is taking a $5 million pay cut amid growing uncertainty about the channel’s...

Can Matt Gaetz return to Congress after failed attorney general bid?

Matt Gaetz shocked Washington on Thursday with his announcement he was dropping out of consideration to be...

'Unidentified product' found in US tap water could be toxic, study says

Tap water for about 1 in 3 Americans could contain a byproduct from the decontamination process that...

Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration as Donald Trump's attorney general

Former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz announced Thursday he is withdrawing his name from consideration to be President-elect...

Here's What the Latest Science Tells Us About Ivermectin

EARLY IN THE Covid pandemic, some medicines got reputations for potentially being able to treat the virus,...