Full Moon July 2017: How, When To See Full Buck Moon, Other Astronomical Events

It’s been a month since June’s full Strawberry moon lit the night sky, meaning it’s just about time for July’s full moon. You can expect to see the next full moon on the evening of July 8 and the early morning hours of July 9, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. The July full moon will be its fullest at 12:08 am EDT in the early morning of July 9 for those along the East Coast of the United States.

The July moon is called the “full buck moon” because it happens during the time of the year during which buck’s antlers are growing in, says the Farmer’s Almanac. The July moon is sometimes also called the thunder moon because there tend to be a lot of thunderstorms during this time of the year.

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Full moons occur when the Earth is between the sun and the moon so it is fully illuminated by the sun’s light. June saw the smallest full moon of the year due to the fact that the moon was in the point in its orbit furthest away from Earth. This point is the opposite of the supermoon, that occurs when the moon is in the part of its orbit closest to Earth. So while the moon won’t be its smallest, it won’t be the largest either.

Along the East Coast of the U.S. the moon will be full and visible after midnight. But in other cities the time at which the moon will be fullest may be during sunlit hours. Much of the continental U.S. will get the full moon late in the night, but Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities along the West Coast might still have some daylight present as the sun sets on the full moon at 9:07 p.m. PDT.

Some other notable astronomical events for July include the Earth’s position at aphelion in its orbit. This occurs on July 3 and it means the Earth is at the point in its orbit at which it is furthest from the sun. The Earth was at perihelion, or the point in which it was closest to the sun, on Jan. 4. Aphelion and perihelion happen six months apart from one another.

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July 16 will be the night that the last quarter moon, frequently called the half moon, will be visible. While it is sometimes called the half moon, it's really a quarter moon because only half of the side of the moon that is facing Earth is visible at that time.

July 16 also marks the 48th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 11 mission, the first manned mission to the moon sent by NASA. The crew spent eight days in space and a total of 21 hours and 36 minutes on the surface of the moon. The anniversary of the reentry and landing back on Earth is July 24.

By June 23 there will appear to be no moon, it will be in its new moon phase ready to start the process over again. This happens because the Earth is between the sun and moon.