Mark Your Calendars for the 2024 Buck Moon This July

Get ready to look at the nighttime sky for July’s stunning full moon: the Buck Moon.

When will be the Full Moon in July 2024?

The Buck Moon will achieve its greatest illumination around 3:17 a.m. Pacific Time on a Sunday July 21, 2024. However, to the casual stargazer, the moon will continue to seem full the night before and following its peak, as stated by space.com.

Why in the world is July’s Full Moon referred to as the Buck Moon?

In accordance to the Farmers’ Almanac, male deer, or bucks, start to develop their antlers in the last weeks of spring, with growth rates as rapid as a quarter-inch each day. The longer days activate the hormones that commence this growth every year in spring. By July, the antlers are totally covered in velvet, lending to the appellation “Buck Moon.”

The Perfect Location to See the Full Moon: Joshua Tree National Park

If you are in Southern California, Joshua Tree National Park serves as a wonderful site for observing the full moon. The park’s dark night sky offer a perfect location for moon gazing. Additionally, it’s “Milky Way” season in Joshua Tree, meaning the Milky Way is widely visible at this time of year.
However, you’ll need to pick between watching the full moon or the Milky Way, since the strong moonlight will obscure the galaxy.

What represents the August Full Moon?

The next full moon, the Sturgeon Moon, will achieve peak light at 11:26 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, August 19. This supermoon will look larger and more brilliant than the earlier full moons of the previous year.

Full Moon Schedule 2024

Each full moon has a distinct name, many stemming from Native American customs throughout North America. The Maine Farmers’ Almanac started publishing these surnames in the 1930s, as recorded by NASA. Here’s the full lunar schedule for the rest of 2024:

– **August 19**: Sturgeon Moon – **September 17**: Harvest Moon – **October 17**: Hunter’s Moon – **November 15**: Beaver Moon – **December 15**: Cold Moon

Bookmark your calendars to take advantage of these celestial occurrences throughout the year!