A beaver moon shone in Aussie skies on Wednesday night: See photos from around the world

A beaver supermoon rose in Australian skies on Wednesday night. See some of the extraordinary pictures captured of the lunar spectacular from Victoria and around the globe.

This stunning image of the beaver moon over Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge on November 5 was captured by Herald Sun reader Andrea Conway.

A super beaver moon lit up Australian skies on Wednesday night, with a stunning celestial shower to follow this month as the Earth passes through a meteor stream in space.

It came as photos were shared across the world of the oddly named beaver moon, the first full moon in November every year.

However this moon is special because it’s occurring when the moon is quite close to Earth in its orbit — making it a super full moon that looks very large.

This beautiful image of the beaver moon early on Thursday morning over Victoria’s Barwon Heads golf course was snapped by Adam Stan Photography.

The beaver moon comes within 356,980 kilometres of Earth.

Swinburne University researcher Dr Matthew Shaw said that unlike some astronomical events, all Australians could see Wednesday’s super beaver moon, if skies were clear.

The beaver moon behind a statue in Mexico City. Picture: AFP

The moon rises behind the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington DC. Picture: Getty

“It’s not a specific, short event like an eclipse. So, just head outside at night on November 5 and you’ll see it,” he said.

The beaver moon started rising just before sunset — shortly before 8pm for Victorians — with a peak at midnight.

The best way to enjoy a supermoon is when it climbs above the horizon just after sunset, and appears super-sized.

The beaver supermoon in Rome’s sky. Picture: AFP

The beaver moon rises behind mountains and the Villa Medici in Rome. Picture: AFP

The moon over Eden Park during the first Twenty20 international cricket match between New Zealand and West Indies in Auckland. Picture: AFP

The moon as seen from Szurdokpuspoki in northern Hungary. Picture: AP

A roofer working in Oconomowoc, with the beaver moon behind him. Picture: AFP

A supermoon can appear up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than a regular full moon.

The beaver moon is widely believed to be so named because it appears at a time of year when beavers in North America become particularly busy building their dams in preparation for the harsh winter, and make the most of the full moon’s bright light to make progress.

The moon behind the headquarters of Commerzbank in Frankfurt, Germany. Picture: AFP

Above the Atlantic Ocean in Dakar, Senegal. Picture: Misper Apawu

Above Baghdad, Iraq. Picture: Hadi Mizban

A plane flies in front of the super beaver moon, in Vienna, Austria. Picture: AFP

The supermoon at Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland. Picture: AFP

The beaver supermoon rises behind street lamps in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Picture: AP

The moon over the Israeli coastal city of Netanya. Picture: AFP

The supermoon rises behind the Golden Temple as Sikh devotees pray in Amritsar, India. Picture: AP

A bat flies in front of the Beaver Supermoon in Guwahati, India. Picture: AP

The supermoon behind the dome of a historic building in Mexico City. Picture: AFP

Others say the name harks back to Native Americans traditionally setting beaver traps in November.

But if you missed the super beaver moon, don’t fret.

Dr Shaw says you can still catch the super cold moon in a month’s time, on December 5.

“This, of course, is just another name,” he said.

“The moon doesn’t get colder in December, don’t worry.”

METEOR SHOWER

A stunning meteor shower will also light up the Australian night sky throughout November as the Earth passes through debris left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle.

The annual Leonids meteor will stream across the sky from Monday before it peaks around the morning of November 17 and 18.

The meteor shower will last until early next month as the Earth passes through the meteor stream in space, EarthSky reported.

The astronomy based website reported the meteor would rise about midnight and be at its highest peak in the sky at dawn.

The astronomers said it might be possible to see up to 15 Leonid meteors per hour under a dark sky with no moon.

A view of a meteor shower and the Milky Way. Picture: Supplied

“The famous Leonids meteor shower produced one of the greatest meteor storms in living memory,” EarthSky stated on its website.

“Rates were as high as thousands of meteors per minute during a 15-minute span on the morning of November 17, 1966.

“That night, Leonids meteors did, briefly, fall like rain. Some who witnessed it had a strong impression of Earth moving through space, fording the meteor stream.”

The meteor shower is named Leonids because it emerges from the star constellation Leo that takes about 33 years to orbit around the sun.

With Emma Kirk

Originally published as A beaver moon shone in Aussie skies on Wednesday night: See photos from around the world