July's full moon, known as the “buck moon,” appears Thursday. The reddish-hued moon gets its name from the time of year when deer begin to grow antlers.
The moon will peak at 4:37 p.m. ET on July 10. During sunrise, the lunar disk appears larger than it actually is because it is close to the horizon. This creates an optical illusion that makes us perceive it as larger.
It will be brightest after sunset at 8:53 p.m. ET.
“The ideal place to observe the Moon would be an area with an open view of the eastern horizon,” Petro said.
“The beauty of a full moon is that it appears full for about a day before and after its peak. For example, if you go out and look at the full moon on the night of the 9th, it will appear nearly full. Likewise, if you miss the 10th, it will also appear nearly full on the night of the 11th,” said Noah Petro, director of NASA’s Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Laboratory.
The Buck Moon is sometimes referred to as the “Thunder Moon,” named for the summer storms that occur in July.
After sunrise, the Baca Moon takes on a golden or reddish hue, which is explained by Rayleigh scattering.
On the summer solstice, the Moon appears low in the sky after sunset; this effect was especially noticeable in 2025 due to the Great Calm Moon phenomenon. This occurs every 18.6 years when the Sun's gravity tilts the Moon's orbit to its maximum relative to the Earth's celestial equator.
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