Jul.'s full buck moon is arriving
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The July full moon shone brightly over Greece's 2,500-year-old Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion late Thursday. (AP video: Srdjan Nedeljkovic)
Sky watchers will have the chance to spot the full Moon glowing a vibrant orange hue tonight. July's full Moon, also known as the Buck Moon, is the first full Moon of summer in the northern hemisphere. It gets its name from the time of year that male deer, called bucks, begin to grow their antlers.
Another Full Moon will return to the skies across central Indiana the night of July 10th. These full moons contain different names, depending on the month. These names date back to the 1930s,
The Buck moon, or July's full moon, may also be referred to as the thunder moon, due to the frequent thunderstorms during the summer, or the hay moon, in honor of the hay harvest in July. Anyone can see the moon no matter where they are in the world. In Central Florida, the moon will be visible beginning at 4:37 p.m.
Skywatchers may have a harder time spotting July's full moon in Iowa. The evening of Wednesday, July 9, is expected to have 50-80% cloud cover across the state with some thunderstorms possible starting in western Iowa around 10 p.m. and moving across the state through the night, according to the National Weather Service.
This year, the Buck Moon follows Earth's aphelion, the point in its orbit farthest from the Sun, by just a few days, according to Space.com. That makes it the full moon farthest from the Sun in 2025, a result of orbital geometry rather than distance from Earth.