\n Get ready for a double celestial event this week.\n <\/p>\n
\n November\u2019s full beaver supermoon will peak at 8:19 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to The Old Farmer\u2019s Almanac<\/a>. But the silvery orb will be below the horizon at that time, so take the time to look outside during the evening hours for the best view.\n <\/p>\n \n The moniker beaver moon<\/a> marks the time of year when beavers begin preparing for the winter by fortifying dams and lodges and stocking up on food. This full moon is also referred to as the digging moon by the Tlingit people, deer rutting moon by the Dakota and frost moon by the Cree, according to the almanac.\n <\/p>\n \n This lunar event will be the second of three back-to-back supermoons this year. A supermoon happens when the moon reaches perigee, or its nearest point<\/a> to our planet, making it appear larger and fuller.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s so subtle that the human eye does not pick up the superness of it. But we still give it a fun name, I guess, to indicate that technically, this is the moon at its biggest and brightest, just not that much bigger on average than it usually is,\u201d said Dr. Alissa Bans, director of undergraduate studies of Emory University\u2019s department of physics.\n <\/p>\n \n If clouds obscure the view in your area, the Virtual Telescope Project will share a livestream of the full moon<\/a> over Manciano, Italy, beginning at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday.\n <\/p>\n \n The second celestial event this week is the Southern Taurid meteor shower, which will peak at 8 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to EarthSky<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n This meteor shower does not have a strong peak \u2014 there may only be five meteors an hour, said Robert Lunsford, fireball report coordinator for the American Meteorological Society. \u201cBut anytime it\u2019s dark in that period (October through early November), you\u2019ll be able to see these slow meteors coming from the constellation of Aries in October and Taurids in November.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The Taurids are the result of Earth\u2019s passing through debris left by the small comet 2P\/Encke<\/a>. It has the shortest orbit of any comet that\u2019s been discovered \u2014 just 3.3 years, compared with long-period comets that have orbits lasting between 200 and 1,000 years. In previous years, this meteor shower has produced fireballs during Halloween, so they\u2019ve also been called the \u201cHalloween fireballs.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe entire encounter with Taurids this year is special because we\u2019re predicted to encounter some fresh material that\u2019s a little bit larger than your average Taurid meteor. And these tend to cause fireballs,\u201d Lunsford said.\n <\/p>\n \n For those planning to look for these meteors, they may be difficult to spot since the moonlight will drown out most activity, but there is still a chance to see a fireball, Lunsford said.\n <\/p>\n \n For best viewing, find an area with clear skies away from tall buildings and bright lights. You should aim to be outside any time after the sun sets and before the moon reaches its highest point Wednesday night.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThey slightly favor the Northern Hemisphere, but they are visible in both (hemispheres). Your only problem down in Australia or South Africa is the radiant is lower in the sky, so more of the Taurid meteors will be obscured by the horizon,\u201d Lunsford said.\n <\/p>\n \n Here are the peak dates of other meteor showers anticipated this year, according to the American Meteor Society<\/a> and EarthSky<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n Northern Taurids: November 11-12<\/p>\n Leonids: November 16-17<\/p>\n Geminids: December 13-14<\/p>\n Ursids: December 21-22<\/p>\n