July begins with a gorgeous planetary event that you won’t want to miss!
July 3: First, we have a our first supermoon of the year on the eve of Independence Day! Not only will the “Buck Moon” be closer to Earth than it typically is, but according to Live Science, for most observers, the moon will also remain lower in the sky than at any other time this year.
The Earth-facing side of the moon will be fully lit by the sun at 6:40 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 3, but it will be best viewed at moonrise the previous evening as it appears in the southeastern sky. It will be in the constellation Sagittarius, and will appear bright and full on the nights of July 2 and 4 as well.
The most popular name for July’s full moon is the Buck Moon, because the antlers of male deer (bucks) are growing at this time, according to Almanac. However, other names include the Thunder Moon, Hay Moon, Salmon Moon and Raspberry Moon.
The Buck Moon is described as a supermoon because it will be a little closer to Earth than average, so it will appear slightly bigger and brighter. The moon has an elliptical orbit of Earth, so every month has a point of perigee (closest distance) and apogee (farthest distance). The mean distance of perigee and apogee can range from 225,800 to 251,800 miles (363,400 to 405,500 kilometers), respectively. Moons that come within 90% of perigee on a given month qualify as supermoons, according to Fred Espenak, an astronomer and former eclipse calculator for NASA.
The next full moon after the Buck Moon will be the Sturgeon Moon on Aug. 1, which, at 222,159 miles (357,530 km) from Earth, will be the second-largest supermoon of the year.
Here are some of Almanac’s other bright planet events to watch for in the month of July:
July 4: Millions will see but not be able to identify this fine conjunction as they await the start of Independence Day fireworks. At roughly 9 to 9:15 PM in the west, orange Mars hovers between Leo’s famous blue star Regulus and super-dazzling Venus, now at its brightest as an Evening Star at a shadow-casting magnitude of -4.7.
July 5: In case July 4 was cloudy or you merely want a curtain call, yesterday evening’s fabulous three-way conjunction repeats itself.
July 9: Tonight, Mars will start a close conjunction with Regulus; the two will be paired up until July 11. At the same time, Mercury begins an evening star apparition, starting low in the west with a magnitude of -1. Each evening, Mercury will be brighter and higher in the sky as it traverses the horizon. To top it all off, the Last Quarter Moon is shining bright at 9:48 P.M.
July 17: At 2:32 P.M., the New Moon makes an appearance… or rather, a disappearance? According to the age-old practice of planting the Moon, the ground is the most fertile and wet during the new Moon and the days after. Perhaps it is time to venture into the garden and plant a few mid-summer crops.
July 18: Look up tonight! Mercury will be poised just to the left of the thin crescent Moon, with Venus a bit further to the left. This is a great opportunity to view some of our closest planetary neighbors.
July 20: At 9 P.M., see the crescent Moon with Mars to its left; both hover above dazzling Venus in the west. Mars is now at its dimmest of the year at magnitude +1.8, merely matching the Big Dipper’s stars, but the Moon and Venus are impossible to miss.
July 25: The First Quarter Moon will be back in view on July 25 at 6:07 P.M. Be sure to check out why we call it a quarter Moon and not a half Moon.
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