Buck Moon

July's full moon, the Buck Moon, reaches peak illumination on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 10:36 a.m. EDT (14:36 UTC). To the naked eye, the Moon looks full for about a day on either side of the peak. That makes the evenings of July 28 and July 29 the best nights to watch it rise.

Quick facts

Peak time by US time zone

The Moon is exactly full at one instant worldwide. Only the clock reading changes.

Times are calculated with the open-source astronomy-engine library. Other published sources may differ by about a minute because of rounding.

Is it a supermoon?

No. At full phase the Moon is about 399,605 km from Earth (center to center), not close enough to perigee (363,273 km) to qualify under the common definitions.

Best viewing tips

Watch the moonrise. In New York City, the Moon rises at about 8:02 p.m. on July 28 (sunset 8:15 p.m.) and at about 8:32 p.m. on July 29 (sunset 8:14 p.m.). Times for your city will differ, so check the Moonlix moonrise page for your location.

Find a clear eastern horizon. Near the horizon, the full moon often looks orange and unusually large. The color comes from Earth's atmosphere filtering out blue light. The size is the well-known Moon illusion, a trick of perception rather than a real change.

Where it sits in the sky. At its highest, this full moon is low in the sky for mid-northern US latitudes. July full moons still ride low in the sky. Warm nights make moon watching comfortable, but bring insect repellent and watch for evening thunderstorms.

Binoculars and cameras. Ordinary 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars show the dark lunar seas and the bright rays around the crater Tycho. For photos, use a tripod and a telephoto lens, shoot during blue hour just after sunset, and expose for the Moon. A good starting point is ISO 100, f/8 and 1/250 s.

Name origin and folklore

The Buck Moon name refers to male deer, whose new antlers grow fast in early summer. Thunder Moon reflects the frequent summer storms, and Hay Moon the hay harvest in many farming regions.

Other names recorded for this month's full moon include Thunder Moon, Hay Moon. Most full moon names popular in the US today were spread by the Old Farmer's Almanac and the Farmers' Almanac. Native nations had their own names, which varied by region and language, so no single list is "official."

What else is in the sky

Use the Moonlix monthly calendar to plan dark-sky nights around the new moon, when there is no moonlight to wash out faint stars and meteors. Use the July 2026 moon calendar to see every phase, and the daily moon phase pages for illumination on any date.