Greatest time to see spectacular orange ‘buck moon’ over UK skies

[ad_1] The buck moon will rise in British skies on Thursday, and it must be a spectacular orange sight.

Like final month’s full moon, it will likely be low within the sky, attributable to final December’s ‘main lunar standstill’, an occasion that happens roughly each 18 years and means the moon reaches its most excessive positions on the horizon.

The buck moon shall be seen to the south, and will have an orangey hue attributable to hanging low within the sky.

Why is it referred to as the 'buck moon'? The names we use for full moons immediately (reminiscent of ‘chilly moon’, ‘wolf moon’ and ‘harvest moon’) come to us not directly from Native American traditions

NASA’s Gordon Johnston has beforehand defined: “Within the Thirties the Maine Farmer's Almanac started publishing ‘Indian’ names for the complete moons, tying these names to the European months.

NASA writes that the buck moon is so-called as a result of: “The Algonquin tribes of what's now the north-eastern United States referred to as this the buck moon. Early summer time is generally when the brand new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. In addition they referred to as this the thunder moon due to early summer time's frequent thunderstorms.”

The July full moon is usually generally known as the ‘hay moon’ or ‘mead moon’ in Europe, after the fermented honey drink.

<img alt="Themenbild Erdbeermond als seltenes astronomisches Ereignis, 11.06.2025 Themenbild Erdbeermond als seltenes astronomisches Ereignis, 11.06.2025 Tief stehender Juni-Vollmond, auch bekannt als Rosenmond, ueber dem Horizont, warm orange-roter Lichtschein, bei major lunar standstill, das ihn zum niedrigsten Vollmond seit 2006 macht. Erst im Juni 2043 wird das wieder so sein. *** Theme picture Strawberry moon as a rare astronomical event, 11 06 2025 Theme picture Strawberry moon as a rare astronomical event, 11 06 2025 Low June full moon, also known as rose moon, above the horizon, warm orange red" loading="lazy" width="960" height="640" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="rounded-lg" style="color:transparent" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/VSt5iPlq7F3gaHoBQo_GLA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-06/b0d258b0-55cc-11f0-bacf-bcc435099e31"/> The most important lunar standstill means the moon hangs low within the sky (Alamy)

When is the very best time to see the buck moon? It is going to rise on the on 10 July at 22:09 BST, and be seen within the south-southwest within the constellation Sagittarius.

You’ll have the ability to see it via the evening, and it'll set within the southwest within the hours earlier than daybreak.

One cause the moon will seem decrease within the sky is because of final December’s main lunar standstill.

This implies the moon’s path throughout the sky is longer: ‘main lunar standstills’ happen when the lean of the moon and the lean of the Earth coincide.

Archaeologist and historian Jennifer Wexler advised the BBC: "Over a number of years, the bounds of moonrise and moonset themselves progressively change, till they attain the purpose the place the northernmost and southernmost moonrise and moonset positions are at their most distance aside on the horizon.

"This two-year interval is what is named a serious lunar standstill, or lunistice, and it solely happens each 18.6 years.

"As soon as a serious standstill is reached, the gap between northernmost and southernmost moonrise and moonset will be exceptionally far aside, and it stays that approach for round two years."

Why will or not it's larger and look orange? The moon won't really be larger, however will seem larger as a result of it's close to the horizon, which makes individuals understand it as bigger, comparatively talking.