Eyes to the Sky This Weekend: Supermoon, Meteor Showers & Planets

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) — We’ve got a lot going on in the sky this weekend! 

Friday is our last of four supermoons in a row. It’s called the Beaver Moon. 

“The Beaver Moon comes from the Native American Moon naming convention,” said Madison College astronomy instructor Dixie Burns. “The beavers, they’re going into their dens this time of year, settling down. That’s where that got that name from.”

A full moon can look up to 30% larger during a supermoon. 

“The moon’s orbit isn’t a perfect circle, so sometimes it’s closer to Earth … when it’s closest to the earth, we call that perigee. When the moon’s also full and near perigee at the same time, we call that a super moon because it’s just a little bit bigger and brighter in the sky.”

Meanwhile, we’ve got meteor showers to watch too. 

The Taurids are wrapping up. They end December 8. 

The Leonid meteor showers peak this weekend. They’re known for colorful, fast flashes throughout the sky. 

However, that full moon may make them harder to see. 

We can also see some planets this time of year. Venus shows up before sunset. After it sets, Jupiter rises from the east, and Saturn is in our southern sky. 

“If you can try to look away from the moon or use something to block off the moon … your early morning hours are going to be best, 1 a.m., 2 a.m. to dawn,” Burns said. “What you would expect is you would look at the sky if it’s dark, every minute or few minutes, you would see one going by, depending upon the intensity of the meteor shower.”

The Leonids peak Saturday night into Sunday morning. Then we move on to the best meteor shower of the year, the Geminids, in mid-December. 

We can also see some planets this time of year. Venus shows up before sunset. After it sets, Jupiter rises from the east, and Saturn is in our southern sky.