Full moon of July 2021: the moon “Buck” rises tonight

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The moon will reach its peak illumination at 10:37 p.m. ET on Friday, according to NASA. In all its glory, the heavenly treat will hang in the night sky for about three days around its peak, so viewers can enjoy the glowing moon all weekend long.
Why the nickname? July marks the time when male deer – males – grow their antlers, granting this month’s full moon the nickname “buck,” according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The antlers of the males go through a cycle of fall and regrowth each year, gradually becoming larger as the animals age.
However, the name of the July full moon differs across cultures. Some Native American tribes name it for the hot summer season. The Comanches call this event “Urui mua,” or “hot moon,” and the people of Kalapuya call it “ameku,” meaning “midsummer moon,” according to the Western Washington University Planetarium website.

Other Indigenous groups, including the Mohawk, Apache, Cherokee, and Passamaquoddy peoples, named the July moon in reference to “maturation.” Some are more specific to fruits, like the “aabita-niibino-giizis” of the Anishnaabe, which means “raspberry moon” and the “wasasa” or “red berries” of the Assiniboine. The Zuni tribe, originally from what is now New Mexico, says “dayamcho yachunne”, which means “the limbs are broken by the fruit.”

In contrast, Europeans use the term “hay moon” as a nod to the June and July haymaking season, according to NASA.

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Typical of a normal year, 2021 has 12 full moons. (There were 13 full moons last year, including two in October.)

Here are all of the full moons remaining this year and their names, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac:

August 22 – sturgeon moon

September 20 – harvest moon

October 20 – hunter’s moon

November 19 – beaver moon

December 18 – cold moon

Also be sure to research other names of these moons, attributed to their respective Native American tribes.

Meteor showers

The Milky Way is seen from Glacier Point Trailside in Yosemite National Park, California.

The Delta Aquariids meteor shower is best seen from the southern tropics and will peak between July 28-29, when the moon is 74% full.

Interestingly, another meteor shower peaks on the same night – the Alpha Capricornids. Although this is a much weaker shower, it is known to produce brilliant fireballs during its prime. It will be visible to everyone, regardless of which side of the equator you are on.

The Perseid meteor shower, the most popular of the year, will peak between August 11 and 12 in the northern hemisphere, when the moon is only 13% full.

Here is the meteor shower schedule for the rest of the year, according to EarthSky’s meteor shower outlook.

• October 8: Draconids

• October 21: Orionides

• November 4 to 5: Taurides du Sud

• November 11 to 12: Taurides du Nord

• November 17: Leonids

• December 13 to 14: Geminides

• December 22: Ursides

Solar and lunar eclipses

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This year there will be another solar eclipse and another lunar eclipse, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

November 19 will see a partial lunar eclipse, and sky watchers in North America and Hawaii will be able to see it between 1 a.m.ET and 7:06 a.m.ET.

And the year will end with a total solar eclipse on December 4th. It won’t be visible in North America, but those in the Falkland Islands, the southern tip of Africa, Antarctica and southeast Australia will be able to spot it.

Visible planets

Sky watchers will have multiple opportunities to spot the planets in our skies on certain mornings and evenings throughout 2021, according to the Farmer’s Almanac planetary guide.

Most of them can be seen with the naked eye, with the exception of distant Neptune, but binoculars or a telescope will provide the best view.

Mercury will look like a bright star in the morning sky from October 18 to November 1. It will shine in the night sky from August 31 to September 21 and from November 29 to December 31.

Venus, our closest neighbor in the solar system, will appear in the western sky at dusk in the evening until December 31. It is the second brightest object in our sky, after the moon.

Mars makes its reddish appearance in the morning sky between November 24 and December 31 and will be visible in the evening sky until August 22.

Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, is the third brightest object in our sky. It will be on display in the morning sky until August 19. Look for it on the evening of August 20 through December 31, but it will be at its peak from August 8 through September 2.

Saturn’s rings are only visible through a telescope, but the planet itself can still be seen with the naked eye in the morning until August 1 and in the evening from August 2 to December 31. It will be at its peak during the first four days of August.

Binoculars or a telescope will help you spot Uranus’ greenish glow in the morning through November 3 and in the evening from November 4 through December 31. It will be at its peak between August 28 and December 31.

And our furthest neighbor in the solar system, Neptune, will be visible through a telescope in the morning through September 13 and in the evening from September 14 through December 31. It will be at its maximum between July 19 and November 8.

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