July’s Buck Moon is a supermoon that should be especially big, bright
It’s a big week for astronomical events.
Right on the heels of the Webb Telescope image release, there’s a supermoon rising tonight.
Just after sunset – at 9:07 p.m. – look to the southeast to catch a glimpse of the Buck Moon, July’s full moon.
This Buck Moon also happens to be a “supermoon,” a special astrophysical phenomenon that makes the moon appear bigger and brighter than usual.
While it’s not every month that we have a supermoon, there have been two this summer, back-to-back.
Just a month ago, the Strawberry Moon – June’s full moon – was also a supermoon.
If you happened to catch a glimpse of the Strawberry Supermoon, the Buck Supermoon may look even bigger.
According to the Farmers Almanac, the Buck Moon will be about 124 miles closer to Earth than the Strawberry Moon, making it loom larger.
The moon orbits Earth in an elliptical shape, so its distance to Earth changes each time it orbits. When the moon reaches its closest point to Earth, this is called perigee; its furthest point from Earth is known as apogee.
Supermoons are interesting because conditions have to be just right: The moon must be at perigee and it must be a full moon.
The moon reaches its closest point to Earth every 27 days, Jennifer Stafford, an astronomy graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said in an interview last month. A full moon occurs every 291⁄2 days.
The Buck Moon name is rooted in Indigenous history.
Native Americans, Stafford explained, attribute wisdom and reverence to the moon and use it as a way of tracking the seasons.
The Strawberry Moon, for example, is inspired by strawberry season, with strawberries being their ripest in June.
July’s Buck Moon refers to antler changes on male deer. Each winter, bucks shed their antlers, and by July, their antlers have reached their peak growth.
This moon has also been referred to as The Thunder Moon because thunderstorms are prevalent during this time of year. For example, Milwaukee typically has an average five thunderstorms in July, said Mark Gehring, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
The moon will be at its highest around 12:30 a.m. on July 14, and that’s when gazing conditions will be best, with no objects obstructing the view.
This will be the last supermoon until Aug. 1, 2023.