This week, the sky will feature July’s full moon, known as the Buck Moon. It is set to reach its peak illumination at 4:37 p.m. ET on Thursday. For observers in North America, where the moon will be below the horizon at its peak, the best viewing will begin a few hours after sunset. The lunar display will appear full to the naked eye for about a day on either side of its peak.
The name “Buck Moon” traditionally marks the time of year when the antlers of male deer are in a phase of rapid growth. Indigenous cultures have other names that reflect the summer season’s natural cycles. For the Cree, it is the “molting moon,” signifying when birds shed their feathers, while the Tlingit of the Pacific Northwest Coast call it the “salmon moon” to mark the annual salmon migrations. For optimal viewing, find a location with a clear, unobstructed view of the eastern horizon, away from bright city lights.
While no planets will be visible alongside the full moon, other celestial events will follow later in the month. On the mornings of July 21 and 22, Venus and Jupiter will be visible low on the horizon before sunrise, appearing near the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters. On July 28, Mars will appear next to the crescent moon for the first couple of hours after sunset.
July also marks a significant milestone in space exploration: the 60th anniversary of the first successful flyby of Mars. In 1965, NASA’s Mariner 4 spacecraft captured the first close-up images of another planet from space.
Five more full moons are scheduled for 2025, with supermoons occurring in October, November, and December. The remaining full moons for the year are:
- August 9: Sturgeon Moon
- September 7: Corn Moon
- October 6: Harvest Moon
- November 5: Beaver Moon
- December 4: Cold Moon
Lunar and Solar Eclipses in 2025
As summer concludes, skywatchers can anticipate two notable eclipse events.
A total lunar eclipse will be visible on September 7 and 8 across Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, parts of eastern South America, Alaska, and Antarctica. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes directly between the sun and moon, casting its shadow on the lunar surface. As the moon enters Earth’s darkest shadow, sunlight filtering through our planet’s atmosphere can give it a reddish hue, an effect often called a “blood moon.”
Two weeks later, on September 21, a partial solar eclipse will be visible from parts of Australia, the Atlantic, the Pacific, and Antarctica. This event occurs when the moon moves between the sun and Earth but does not completely obscure the sun. The result is a crescent shape, making it appear as if a “bite” has been taken out of the sun.