Get outside and peer into the night sky as the biggest and brightest supermoon of the year rises.
These supermoons always have interesting names. This one is called the Full Buck Supermoon.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, it reaches peak illumination at 11:38 a.m. Pacific Time. The downer is that it’s below the horizon at that time, so be sure to look toward the southeast tonight to watch it rise in the sky. Moonrise is set for about 9:30 p.m.
At its nearest point, the Buck Moon will be 222.089.3 miles from Earth. That’s about 124 miles closer than June’s Strawberry Moon, according to the Almanac.
As exciting as this all sounds, the Almanac points out that a supermoon only appears about 7% brighter than a regular full moon, so it’s hard for the human eye to perceive.
Why the name? According to the Almanac, “The full moon in July is called the Buck Moon because the antlers of male deer (bucks) are in full-growth mode at this time. Bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year, producing a larger and more impressive set as the years go by.”
Other names used to describe this moon include:
- Feather Moulting Moon
- Salmon Moon
- Berry Moon
- Moon when the Chokecherries are Ripe
- Month of the Ripe Corn Moon
- Raspberry Moon
- Thunder Moon
- Halfway Summer Moon
