July 2024 Full Buck Moon

July’s full Moon, called the full Buck Moon, will occur at 6:17A.M. EDT on July 21, 2024.  By this time the Moon will have slipped below our southwestern horizon.  Not to worry though, if you want to see the Buck Moon it will look full and round to our eyes on the nights of July 20, 21 and 22, weather permitting of course.  Moon phases are not determined by the Moon’s visibility from a particular location on Earth.  Phases are determined by the Moon’s position in its orbit around Earth.  A full Moon occurs at the exact moment the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides of the Earth – the three bodies form a straight line.  Likewise, a new Moon occurs at the exact moment the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun – again all three bodies form a straight line.  This alignment is called a syzygy of the Sun-Earth-Moon system.  The word syzygy comes from the Greek word syzygos meaning paired or yoked together.  Since half of the Earth always faces the Sun, a full Moon will occur during the day somewhere. 

Native Americans gave full Moons names that described what was going on in the natural world around them. Many called this the Buck Moon from their observations of bucks (male deer) this time of year.  Bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year.  Antler growth is triggered by the amount of daylight.  As days get longer in the spring, a buck’s antlers begin to grow.  By July their antlers are in full growth mode.  Although full Buck Moon is the most common name for July’s Moon there are others.  The Haida and Tlingit Tribes in Alaska call this Moon the Salmon Moon.  The Wishram of the Pacific Northwest call it the Salmon Go Up Rivers in a Group Moon.  Both names refer to the return of the Salmon to their local rivers.  There are many names that relate to plant growth and harvesting such as the Mohawk name Time of Much Ripening Moon, the Shawnee Blackberry Moon, the Lakota Moon When the Chokecherries are Black, the Zunie Limbs are Broken by Fruit Moon, the Ojibwe Blueberry Moon and the Potawatomi Moon of the Young Corn, to name just a few.   This Moon was also called the Thunder Moon by the Western Abenaki because of the large number of thunderstorms that happen this time of year.  July is rich with the sights, sounds and smells of nature; take the time to experience them for yourself.