The biggest and brightest full moon of 2025 is about to take over the sky. Known as the Beaver Supermoon, it officially reaches its peak at 8:19 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 5, according to NASA, but the best viewing will be that evening and into Thursday night when it rises over the eastern horizon.
This is the closest full moon of the year, sitting about 221,818 miles from Earth, making it roughly 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a typical full moon. AstroPixels notes it’s the nearest the moon has come to Earth since February 2019. It’s also the second in a trio of consecutive supermoons, sandwiched between October’s Harvest Moon and December’s Cold Moon.
Get Ready For The Beaver Supermoon, The Largest Full Moon You’ll See This Year
The Beaver Moon gets its name from early North American observations. November was the time when beavers built dams ahead of winter, their nocturnal labor lit by the glow of a full moon. Timeanddate notes that some Indigenous communities, including the Anishinaabeg, call it Baashkaakodin Giizis, or the Freezing Moon. Other names for the season’s full moon include the Frost Moon, the Mourning Moon, and the Darkest Depths Moon—each one a poetic nod to the coming cold.
A supermoon happens when a full moon coincides with the moon’s perigee, its closest point to Earth in orbit. Because its orbit is elliptical, some full moons appear noticeably larger. NASA explains that the effect is most striking near moonrise, when the moon hangs low over the horizon, framed by buildings or trees, amplifying its size through perspective.
For those who actually plan to look up from their screens, the moon will appear in the constellation Taurus, positioned near the star cluster known as the Pleiades. The view will be visible worldwide, weather permitting, and experts say the most dramatic moment will be when the glowing disk lifts into view shortly after sunset.
There’s no shortage of celestial marketing these days. Every month seems to bring another “super” or “rare” event, but this one actually earns the title. The Beaver Supermoon is the brightest, closest, and most photogenic full moon of the year. Whether you’re the type to set up a telescope or just glance up between Netflix episodes, it’s worth a look. For once, the hype actually matches the view.
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