On Saturday, November 12th, the moon rose in the east at about 6:45 pm and was accompanied by low clouds immediately above it. Also keeping company with the rising moon was Aldebaran, a great red giant star in the constellation Taurus.
As the moon rose higher in the night sky, the clouds came between us and the clouds shone with moonlight. The name Aldebaran is Arabic for "the follower" perhaps because it appears to follow the Pleiades star cluster. Aldebaran is the eye of the bull, Taurus. Here's the StarDate description of November 12th.
The November full moon has several names. According to the Farmer's Almanac it is the Beaver Moon, the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze. The Old Farmer's Almanac agrees with Beaver moon. StarDate calls the November full moon the Frosty moon with no explanation except the obvious one.
Many more names are listed in the Wikipedia entry for the November full moon: Hunter's moon, Beaver moon, Frost moon, and Snow Moon. Calling the moon by its name makes one think more about the natural rhythm of the seasons.
This full moon was covered by thin clouds passing north at 11 pm on November 10th. The clouds around the moon reflected its light through the diffuse layers. It was a magical sight!
