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Chief Meteorologist Frank Billingsley on why our Full Moon will make you smile

CREDIT: Click2pins "WEE in the City" from League City

I love that photo above of our November Full Moon which was technically full this morning at 3:16am...just enough tree blockage to see two eyes and a big smile! Consequently, the moon ‘looked’ full last evening and will again tonight as it begins to rise at 5:33pm against clear skies. Here’s the way it looked this morning from Cat Spring:

CREDIT: Click2pins

And yes, that bright planet you’ve been seeing near the moon the past week is Jupiter. You can see our biggest planet from last night in this Click2pin up on the far right:

CREDIT: Click2pins "Toni1430"

And it’s not just coincidence. According to EarthSky: And Jupiter? It’s no accident this mighty planet is near this month’s full moon. Earth passed between Jupiter and the sun in November 2023. A full moon is opposite the sun. And Jupiter was opposite the sun last month, at its opposition. So, as Earth and mighty Jupiter have moved on in their orbits around the sun, Jupiter is still nearly opposite the sun as seen from Earth.

RELATED: It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a...beaver?

I’ve discussed before that our Full Moons have names and this month is interesting: IF the Full Moon falls before November 7th then it’s known as the Hunter’s Moon but any day after that it’s called the Beaver Moon and sometimes the Frosty Moon! That’s pretty appropriate as tonight we drop into the mid 30s in parts of Southeast Texas!

CREDIT: Houston National Weather Service

Here’s one more beautiful shot from this morning. Talk about Fly Me To The Moon!

CREDIT: Click2pins Grace Fernandez

RELATED: CLICK2HOUSTON.COM/PINS

And our next Full Moon? That would be December’s COLD MOON and while it will be officially full December 26th at 6:33pm look for a lovely Christmas moon on the evening of the 25th!

Bundle up and enjoy that sky tonight!

Frank

Email me with comments and questions.


About the Author
Frank Billingsley headshot

KPRC 2's chief meteorologist with four decades of experience forecasting Houston's weather.

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