Full Buck Supermoon: When To Watch In New York

NEW YORK — Warm summer nights are perfect for staring at the moon, and New Yorkers who enjoy such dreamy pursuits are in for a special treat with the full buck moon this week: It’s a supermoon.

Not only that, this month's full moon will be the biggest and brightest supermoon of the year, reaching peak illumination at 2:39 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Wednesday.

However, it will be well below the horizon when that happens.

Plan on looking toward the southeast sky after about 9 p.m. Wednesday in New York to see it rise in the sky.

And not only that, meteor showers are starting up again. The Delta Aquariids start Tuesday and continue through Aug. 2, peaking July 28-29. Moonless skies will make the peak worth catching.

Now back to the supermoon: Whether you’ll be able to see it depends on the weather. AccuWeather’s Wednesday night forecast calls for partly cloudy skies in the New York metropolitan region.

The full moon reaches perigee — that is, its closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit — at 5:06 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.

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If you miss it, there’s one more chance this summer to see a full moon that qualifies as a supermoon. The full sturgeon moon in August will also be a supermoon.

Supermoon isn’t an astronomical term, but one coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 to explain the effect of perigee when it occurs during a full moon.

The July full moon is called a full buck moon because it’s the time of year the antlers of male deer are in full growth. Deer shed and regrow their antlers every year, “producing a larger and more impressive set as the years go by,” according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

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