July's Full Moon Isn't A Supermoon, But It Will Look Unnaturally Large And Colorful

Thursday’s full moon is likely to look orange or reddish when it rises in the eastern sky due to Rayleigh scattering, the same phenomenon that causes the colorful hues in sunsets and sunrises.

Thursday’s full buck moon is the perfect chance for sky gazers to see a strange optical effect known as the “moon illusion.”

The moon reaches peak illumination at 4:38 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Moonrise is around 10 p.m., shortly after sunset. As it rises in the eastern sky, the moon will likely appear orange or reddish, a seasonal anomaly.

Why The Moon Will Look Huge

The July full moon’s color at moonrise is due to Rayleigh scattering, the same phenomenon that causes the colorful hues in sunsets and sunrises.

Rayleigh scattering, which is mainly caused by air molecules, influences the color of the moon. It preferentially scatters shorter wavelengths, such as blue light, resulting in longer wavelengths like red and orange reaching our eyes. This effect is especially noticeable when the moon is near the horizon or during a lunar eclipse.

Because it occurs so close to the summer solstice, the July full moon hangs low in the sky against a background of stars. That will make it look unnaturally large when viewed from Earth, although moons are the same size whether they’re near the horizon or high in the sky.

Our visual perception of a bigger, fatter moon is due to what’s called the moon illusion, which NASA says is “rooted in the way our brains process visual information.”

“Even though we’ve been observing it for thousands of years, there’s still not a satisfying scientific explanation for exactly why we see it,” NASA says.

But It’s Not A Supermoon

Although it may seem bigger, the July full moon isn’t a supermoon, a term coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 to describe a new or full moon that occurs when it is at its closest approach to Earth in any given orbit, making it appear bigger and brighter.

Moon gazers will experience three consecutive supermoons, all in the fall when Earth’s natural satellite already looks bigger due to the moon illusion. They are the full harvest moon on Oct. 6, the full beaver moon on Nov. 5 and the full cold moon on Dec. 4.

Why It’s Called The Full Buck Moon

July’s full moon occurs at the time of year when male deer, which are called bucks, grow new antlers. They shed their antlers every year, and each part regrows, reaching full size in mid-summer.

The term “buck moon” was used by the North American Algonquin tribes, who primarily lived east of the Mississippi River. Native Americans and others gave names to each of the 12 or 13 full moons (the 13th moon, a so-called “blue moon,” can occur every two-and-one-half years) to mark the changing seasons.

Other handles given this month’s full moon are the thunder moon due to frequent thunderstorms at this time of year and the hay moon, because farmers race to get their hay in the barn ahead of those storms. July’s full moon is still called the Miin Glizis, or berry moon, among the Anishinaabeg people, according to the Center for Native American Studies. Other names are the feather molting moon, as it was called by the Cree, and the salmon moon, a Tlingit term that references the return of fish to the area, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Meteor Showers Return In July

Meteors also start flying in July. The most anticipated of the summer meteor showers, the Perseids, start July 14 and will peak Aug. 11-13 before winding down on Sept. 1. It’s a usually prolific shooting star show with 50 to 100 meteors an hour visible at the peak under dark skies. They’re also rich in fireballs, larger explosions of light and color that are brighter than typical meteors and whose “tails” last longer than typical meteor streaks.

The Perseids intersect with two other meteor showers that will start soon. The Delta Aquariid meteor shower runs July 18-Aug. 21 and peaks July 30-31. The Alpha Capricornids, which run July 12-Aug 12, with a “plateau-like” maximum at the peak. It isn’t a particularly strong shower and rarely produces more than five shooting stars an hour, but what is notable is the number of bright fireballs produced during the peak.

Aurora May Dance, Too

Depending on solar activity, skywatchers in areas that don’t usually see the aurora borealis may see the ethereal curtains of pink green, purple and yellow lights in the nighttime sky. This is a particularly active time for solar flares, as the sun is at “solar maximum” in its approximately 11-year cycle.

Space weather scientists think solar maximum could continue until early 2026. That almost certainly means intense flares will be spewed from the sun’s hot, hot outer atmosphere more often as the peak approaches.

Related

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