When to Watch July’s “Buck Moon” Light up the Sky
There is a full moon every month, but only July can claim to be the Moon, named after an animal with majestic horns: Luna Buck. This particular month is already a celestial blockbuster based on the Perseid meteor shower . But this month’s full moon provides another reason to keep your head tilted towards the sky – and luckily for anyone venturing outside (or looking out the window) it will be damn impossible to miss.
When is Buck Moon?
The full moon in July rises just after sunset on the 23rd and peaks at 10:37 pm ET. According to Space.com, it will be full the day before and the day after tomorrow, so people unfamiliar with the eight phases of the moon won’t be able to tell the difference.
This moon is called the Buck Moon because “the antlers of the buck (bucks) are in a state of full growth at this time. The males shed and grow their horns each year, producing a larger and more impressive set over the years, ”says the Farmer’s Almanac . The moon is named after these mighty horns, although several other nicknames have followed this moon over the centuries (as is the case with the full moon in general). Native American tribes have given the July moon different names over the centuries, as listed in the Farmer’s Almanac below:
Berry Moon (Anisinaabe), Moon when the bird cherries are ripe (Dakota), Ripe Corn Month, Moon (Cherokee) and Crimson Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe).
In the southern hemisphere, where it is winter, the July full moon has different names that better correspond to cold weather. As Earthsky notes , these are the names: Wolf Moon, Old Moon, and Ice Moon.
How to see the Buck Moon
You will need to look to the southeastern horizon to see the Buck Moon rise, and keep your eyes on it to see it peak on the 23rd. Farmer’s Almanac offers a moonrise calculator for calculating your direct coordinates relative to moonrise , but you can always just look up at the sky as people have done for millennia.