Buck moon to be visible tonight: What is it and how to spot it

proximity to the summer solstice, a biennial event where one of Earth’s poles is tilted toward the Sun at its most extreme angle. The summer solstice causes the Sun to be at its highest position in the daytime sky, causing the moon to take its lowest path in the night sky.

The July buck moon is also frequently on the same day as Guru Purnima, the festival celebrating teachers and wisdom. This is due to Guru Purnima being the full moon of the Hindu month of Ashadha, which aligns with July’s first full moon on the Gregorian calendar.

How did the buck moon get its name?

The term “buck moon” traces back to the Algonquin people, a tribe of Native Americans who used the moon cycles to track natural cycles. The buck moon got its name, as male deers (also known as bucks) would begin regrowing their antlers around the time of the first full moon. 

This moon is also called the “thunder moon” by other Native American tribes, as it was an indication of seasonal thunderstorms observed at this time in parts of the US. Another name given by American tribes is also “salmon moon”, due to it being at the approximate time salmon begin their seasonal migration and begin swimming upstream.

Unique features of this buck moon

This year’s buck moon occurs just a week after Earth reached aphelion – the time when Earth’s orbit is farthest from the Sun. This means that it will be the farthest full moon from the Sun in 2025.

This buck moon will also be the lowest buck moon in recent times. This is due to a rare phenomenon known as ‘Major Lunar Standstill’, that occurs when the Sun’s gravity pulls the moon to its most extreme incline relative to the celestial equator of the Earth. This phenomenon occurs once every 18.6 years and is going to affect the buck moon as well.

Things to look out for

The buck moon will likely have a reddish-gold hue soon after rising. This is caused by an effect called “Rayleigh scattering”, as sunlight that is reflected from the moon’s surface travels a longer distance to Earth.

If the night offers clear skies and you use binoculars, you could see more features of the moon, such as the bright-rayed Tycho crater and the darker basalt plains.

How to sight the buck moon

To get the best experience of the buck moon, try to find a place with a clear view toward the southeast, as the buck moon will appear first in the southeast horizon. It is ideal to also find a location with clear skies and limited pollution in the air. While having access to a telescope could give the clearest sighting of the buck moon, some features will even be clear enough with binoculars or the naked eye.

With the Sun expected to set at 7:21 pm IST tonight, start observing the sky approximately 20 minutes after sunset, likely to be around 7:40 pm. That is when the buck moon will be first visible. 

For the clearest viewing experience, it is recommended to view the buck moon at its peak, where it will appear the largest and seem to be directly overhead. This will occur at around 2:08 am.