The full Buck Moon rose this morning, July 3, and reached peak illumination at 7:39 AM Eastern Time. It will hang near full in the sky for a couple more days, so look for it as you watch fireworks tomorrow night.
This July Buck Moon is a Supermoon, which appears in the sky to be a bit bigger than a normal full moon, though a Supermoon is hard to distinguish with the naked eye. This Buck Moon is the first of 4 Supermoons in 2023. The next Supermoons will rise on August 1, August 30 and September 18.
The Algonquin Indian tribes of the northeastern United States were the first to call the full moon each July the Buck Moon because this is the month that the velvet antlers of bucks are in full-growth mode. In July, antlers of yearling bucks grow as much as 1/8 inch daily; the beams and tines of older bucks grow 1/4 inch daily!
