The Beaver Moon in 2026: date, time and why it has that name
November's full Moon, the Beaver Moon, is full on . The nights are long and the first hard frosts have reached the northern states.
It is also a supermoon: 360,754 km from Earth when full, inside the 361,400 km line.
Next three
The next three Beaver Moon dates
- 360,754 kmSupermoon
- 378,754 km
- 399,065 km
The Beaver Moon is the first full Moon of November by UTC date. In a time zone far ahead of or behind UTC, the date you see for it can fall in the next or previous month.
The name
Why it is called the Beaver Moon
American almanacs give two reasons for the name Beaver Moon. One is that beavers are busiest in November, strengthening dams and lodges and storing food before the ponds freeze. The other is the trapper's: November was the time to set traps, while the ponds were still open and beaver fur was thick.
Frost Moon is the other common name for November's full Moon. The Anglo-Saxon month list gives it as Blood Moon, and the modern revival list calls it the Darkest Depths Moon. Today blood Moon usually means the red Moon of a total lunar eclipse, a different event.
In some years the Hunter's Moon is pushed into November and the Beaver Moon is the same full Moon with two names. The next time is in 2028.
- Usually in
- November
- Next full
- Distance then
- 360,754 km
- Supermoon then
- Yes
- Next three
- Nov 24, 2026 · Nov 14, 2027 · Nov 2, 2028
In the sky
How the Beaver Moon looks
The Beaver Moon comes up in the north-east around sunset, which in November means about five in the afternoon in the northern states. It is a high full Moon: about 68 degrees at 40 degrees north, up for some 14 hours. Leaves are down, so branches cross it in dark lines when it is low, and its amber color fades to white within an hour or so of rising.
The big Moon over the horizon is an illusion of the skyline: measured with a pea at arm's length, it is the same half degree as it is high overhead.
November is spring in the south, with short nights, and the Beaver Moon runs a low arc across the northern sky, about 37 degrees at 35 degrees south. Beavers are northern animals; the Moon looks the same.
- Northern Hemisphere
- The Moon rises in the east near sunset
- Southern Hemisphere
- The same Moon, markings turned upside down
- Colour
- Gold near the horizon, white once it climbs
- Rises
- Around sunset
- Sets
- Around sunrise
Questions people ask
Quick answers
When is the next Beaver Moon?
November 24, 2026 (UTC). The cards above show the next three, in your time zone.
Why is it called the Beaver Moon?
American almanacs give two reasons for the name Beaver Moon. One is that beavers are busiest in November, strengthening dams and lodges and storing food before the ponds freeze. The other is the trapper's: November was the time to set traps, while the ponds were still open and beaver fur was thick.
Is the Beaver Moon a supermoon?
The next one is: the Moon is 360,754 km away, closer than 361,400 km.
Does the Beaver Moon change colour?
The Moon only looks gold or orange when it is low and its light crosses a lot of air. Higher up it looks white.
Is this name the same everywhere?
No. These are the US almanac names. Other regions and traditions name the same full Moons differently, and the names are not one single tradition.