Behold the Full Buck Moon!
July鈥檚 full Buck Moon rises after sunset on Sunday, July 21! See more information about July鈥檚 Full Moon, from why we call it the 鈥淏uck鈥 Moon to the best days for activities based on the Moon鈥檚 sign and phase in July.
When to See the Full Moon in July 2024
July鈥檚 full Buck Moon will rise on Sunday, July 21, reaching peak illumination at 6:17 A.M. Eastern Time. It will be below the horizon at that time, so plan to look towards the southeast after sunset to watch it rise into the sky.
鈫 Consult our Moonrise and Moonset Calculator to see precisely when the Buck Moon will be visible in your area!
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Why Is It Called the Buck Moon?
The full Moon names used by The Old Farmer鈥檚 蜜桃恋人 come from a number of places, including Native American, Colonial American, and European sources. Traditionally, each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not solely to the full Moon.
The Buck Moon
The full Moon in July is called the Buck Moon because the antlers of male deer (bucks) are in full-growth mode at this time. Bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year, producing a larger and more impressive set as the years go by.
Alternative July Moon Names
Several other names for this month鈥檚 Moon also reference animals, including Feather Moulting Moon (Cree) and Salmon Moon, a Tlingit term indicating when fish returned to the area and were ready to be harvested.
Plants are also featured prominently in July鈥檚 Moon names. Some of our favorites are Berry Moon (Anishinaabe), Moon When the Chokecherries are Ripe (Dakota), Month of the Ripe Corn Moon (Cherokee), and Raspberry Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe).
Thunder Moon (Western Abenaki) and Halfway Summer Moon (Anishinaabe) are alternative variants that refer to the stormy weather and summer season.
鈫&苍产蝉辫;See all 12 months of full Moon names and meanings.
Moon Phases for July 2024
Note that the Moon phase dates/times below are in EDT.
鈫 See our Moon Phase Calendar to customize dates and times to your location.
.png){kind=small} | New Moon: July 5, 6:57 P.M. EDT |
.png) | First Quarter: July 13, 6:49 P.M. EDT |
.png) | Full Moon: July 21, 6:17 A.M. EDT |
.png) | Last Quarter: July 27, 10:52 P.M. EDT |
鈫 For the next full Moon, see our Full Moon Dates chart.
July鈥檚 Full Buck Moon Video
In this video, we explain the traditional names of the Full Moon along with some fascinating Moon facts. Learn about the Full Buck Moon, why July is such an important month in Moon history, and how scientists measure the distance from Earth to the Moon. Click below to watch the video.
Best Days in July 2024
Below are the best days for activities, based on the Moon鈥檚 sign and phase in July.
| Activity | Best Days |
|---|---|
| Cutting Hay | 25-27 |
| Pick Fruit | 9-11 |
| Fishing | 5-21 |
鈫&苍产蝉辫;See Best Days for more activities.
Moon Facts
- On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the Moon. He also placed the U.S. flag there.
- On July 31, 1999, the ashes of the astrogeologist Eugene Shoemaker were deposited on the Moon.
We leave you with a poem by James N. Matthews (1852鈥1910):
A moon-flooded prairie; a straying
Of leal-hearted lovers; a baying
Of far away watching dogs; a dreaming
Of brown-fisted farmers; a gleaming
Of fireflies eddying nigh, 鈥
And that is July!
Share your thoughts about this month鈥檚 Moon below!
Catherine Boeckmann
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I am trying to follow your astrological guide for scheduling a simple knee arthroscopic surgery. I am a virgo , DOB 8/24/1959 in Pawtucket , RI. I am strongly reactive to mercury retrogrades. I know this one goes direct on July 2, 2014. I have a choice of surgery during the post shadow time on the day of July 10, 2014 or on July 24th . I am unsure of the moon being new at that time, or the best allignment for this procedure date. Could you please help me see which is the better of the two dates please? I was told quick recovery and back to desk administrative job within 5 days...which is best for me as I have a choice when to schedule on either of these two dates.
Thank you
Lisa
Hi Lisa!
Being a Virgo you are naturally predisposed to Mercury Retrograde batty! Mercury (thoughts, communication, technology) IS your ruling planet of course. SO it is completely natural for you to really feel it. Especially when Mercury is in such a chatty, communicative sign as it is now (Gemini.)
If it were me, I would do the surgery on July 24th. Hope this helps!
The Buck Moon is beautiful over the Gulf here in Florida but it can't compare with it's beauty and size in mountainous Afghanistan. I have a friend working there and he says you can almost reach out and touch it, and he can see everything else in the sky clearly. No wonder our Ancient Astronomers learned so much about our Solar System. They could accurately see everything before electricity illuminated the world and caused it to fade out of view. Happy Star Gazing.
I think the Royal Baby is going to be born on this Full Buck Moon and its going to be a boy!
Me and my friends were out tOnight we look at the moon and it started looking at the moon.it started going up and down it was really weird I don't know what was happening it kept going up and down for 20 min. Did anyone see this tonight I live in caolifornia by the way.
What you saw was most likely not the moon but a hiker walking toward you with a flashlight.
The Moon does rise and set, but it travels smoothly across the sky. Sometimes the clouds make it seem as if the Moon is moving up and down, but this is a trick of the eye.
I think the weather tonight in my area is supposed to be clear skies. So I might get a chance to see The Full Buck Moon. I also heard that deer are most active at The Full Moon.
There's this really amazing picture of deer on the OFA Facebook page of "a buck in velvet (growing it's new antlers) last evening when we were watching that almost Full Buck Moon rise!!!!" Thought you'd love it. See: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150262062817682&set=o.140372565772&type=1&theater
