Beaver Moon

The Beaver Moon.  This lunar name will certainly spawn jokes and winks, but the meaning behind this November full moon tributes the semi-aquatic, dam-building North American rodent whose lifespan is about 24 years in the wild and he/she weighs in at 60 pounds. 

Monday morning’s wee hours full moon is especially significant because it was also a penumbral lunar eclipse – these are different from a full eclipse and for most, it isn’t visible even through a telescope.  This type of eclipse occurs when the moon moves into earth’s penumbra which is the outer shadow.  The moon simply looks darker than normal, and for me even though I shot at peak eclipse of 3:41 a.m. central time, the only notable change was dimmed illumination. 

Here are a series of moon shots for you to assess for yourself – can you see a shadow?  It is interesting to note the complexion of the moon in terms of craters changing position during lunar orbit, in particular, the Tycho Crater which is near the bottom and resembles a citrus navel.  It is low to the right during moonrise about 5:00 position and by moonset this morning it held a 9:00 position. 

Back to the Beaver Moon.  I pay reverence to my wonderful Native American friends:  they branded it the Beaver Moon because they associated it with beavers completing their lodges of branches and mud in preparation for winter.  The full moon of November is also known as the Frost Moon due to the cold temperatures.  Enjoy.