JACKSON, Wyo. — Get ready to enjoy summertime moonlight this weekend! July’s full “Buck Moon” rises over Jackson on Sunday, July 21.
On Sunday night, the moon will rise over the valley in the southeast at 9:07 p.m. According to NASA, the moon will appear full all weekend, beginning Friday evening and lasting through Monday morning.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, July’s full moon is called the Buck Moon because the antlers of male deer are growing at this time. Bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year, producing a larger set of antlers as they age.
“Other names for this month’s moon also reference animals, including Feather Moulting Moon (Cree) and Salmon Moon, a Tlingit term indicating when fish returned to the area and were ready to be harvested,” says the almanac. “Thunder Moon (Western Abenaki) and Halfway Summer Moon (Anishinaabe) refer to the stormy weather and summer season.”
The almanac also lists many plant-related names for July’s moon. “Some of our favorites are Berry Moon (Anishinaabe), Moon When the Chokecherries are Ripe (Dakota), Month of the Ripe Corn Moon (Cherokee) and Raspberry Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe).”
Enjoy the poem “July Moon” by Louise Townsend Nicholl here.
