Full Buck Moon tonight: A rare phenomenon overhead in central Indiana
Another Full Moon will return to the skies across central Indiana the night of July 10th. These full moons contain different names, depending on the month. These names date back to the 1930s, according to NASA.
The name “Buck” moon is a reference to the time of the year when new antlers grow on male deer. Male deer are otherwise known as Bucks! In fact, our own Brian Wilkes snapped a picture a young buck in his own backyard on Wednesday.
These “buck moons” happen every year. But this goaround will look especially low in the sky just after the 9:14 p.m. sunset Thursday. The main reason? This is a “Major Lunar Standstill” occurring only every 18.6 years. This phenonomeon happens when the sun’s gravity takes the Moon’s already tilted orbit into its most extreme incline relative to Earth’s celestial equator. During a standstill, the moon will either appear very high or very low.
This year, it’s occurring just after Earth reached its aphelion. That’s the point in Earth’s orbit that is the furthest from the sun. The Buck Moon will be the farthest moon from the sun in 2025.
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