July is one convenient month to do moon watching and although there's nothing different about how the moon looks this month, July's full moon is one of the most popular and is called full "buck" moon for a reason.
The full moon called "buck" moon occurs Tuesday, July 19 at 6:57pm. A colorful history is behind the name "buck" moon; report says that the name originated because the bucks begin to grow new antlers this time of the year.
But this phenomenon is popular all over the world and many other explanations are available as to why July's full moon is called "buck" moon. But the most logical explanation is that the older generations named events after what is naturally occurring in their environment.
Aside from that, it is also called "Thunder Moon" and "Full Hay Moon" according to Space.com. It is called thunder moon since thunders are predominant this time of the year. While the name hay moon originated from the season where farmers start to stock up the hay in their barns due to the storms. In Chinese, it is referred to as the "hungry ghost moon" while in the winter season of South America it is called "wolf moon," "ice moon" and "old moon."
"The Full Moons have descriptive names that come from Native Americans and Colonial Americans who used the Full Moons as a sort of calendar to keep track of the seasons," according to the Old Farmers Almanac. This also coincides with the historical fact that the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong performed the giant leap for mankind on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969.
But there's another thing to look out for because the moonrise and sunset occur 45 minutes apart this July, according to a report. Sun and moon gazers, especially photographers might be able to capture the image of both moon and the sun in one frame.