When should you look up and see the Beaver Moon, the last supermoon of 2024?

The last supermoon of 2024 is about to glow like Earth’s largest ceiling lamp.

Reaching peak relief on Friday at 4:29 PM, the Beaver Moon is expected to be visible towards the constellation Taurus, the Old farmer’s almanac wrote.

When there is a supermoon, a full moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth along its elliptical orbit. Space.com wrote. Due to its proximity to Earth, the moon appears 14% larger in the sky.

On average, the moon is 239,000 miles from the planet, Space.com reported. The moon’s ellipse is not a perfect circle, but rather an oval. When it reaches its farthest point or pinnacle, it is about 250,000 miles from Earth; at its closest point, or perigee, the moon is located according to NASA. When the moon reaches its full moon phase at or near perigee, it is a supermoon.

“The moon’s orbit revolves around the Earth approximately once every 27 and a third days,” NASA researcher Dennis Gallagher said in a statement. “That time of closest approach to Earth, or perigee, occurs three or four times a year due to the movements of the Earth and moon around the sun.”

Skies should be mostly clear Friday evening, according to the National Weather Service. Skies in Boston are expected to be partly cloudy, while in Worcester and Springfield skies will be mostly clear.

The Beaver Moon’s name refers to the time of year when beavers store food in their banking dens, the Almanac wrote. Indigenous peoples also named the supermoon after animals. The Tlingit people call it Digging, or Scratching, Moon, for when animals forage for nuts and green foliage and bears dig their winter dens. The Algonquin people call it the Whitefish Moon, when minnows start spawning. The Lakota call it the Deer Rutting Moon, after deer looking for a mate.

NASA also plays a role in measuring the impact of beaver rewilding by funding the Beaver Rewilding Project in Idaho. Using satellites, the agency collects data across the planet to “track the transformation of the landscape after the beavers arrive, allowing researchers from Boise State University and Utah State University to track the pace and nuance of the beaver’s impact.” without having to send researchers to remote areas,” NASA said.

This data shows that beavers build dams that spread and retain water on land for longer. This supports more plants and forms habitats such as ponds and meadows, and provides more fresh drinking water, according to NASA.

The supermoon of November 15 was preceded by the Hunter’s Moon on October 17 the Harvest Moon on September 17 and the Sturgeon Moon on August 19.

Forecasters expect the next supermoon, the first of 2025, to occur on October 7, followed by November 5 and December 4. EarthSky wrote. The fourth in a row is expected to be released on January 3, 2026.