This is yesterday’s July full moon, shown here rising over Great Cove; it traditionally is called the “Buck Moon.” This name reportedly was given it because male deer (bucks) in full antlers are often seen at this time. It’s a bit misleading, at least with respect to the white-tailed deer that we have around here.
Modified image: moon inserted lower to fit in frame
Every report that I’ve seen, not to mention what I’ve witnessed, indicates that white-tail antler development usually is not completed until late August or early September, when blood stops flowing to the antlers and the protective velvet there is sloughed or rubbed off.
Nonetheless, as with all full moons, they appear to the unaided human eye to be full a day or two before and after the official date, when scientifically-measured luminosity is virtually 100 percent (e.g., 99.8%). This year, that apparent fullness was significant because Saturday, the day before the official full moon, was the 55th anniversary of the first mission that humans landed on the moon, the Appollo 11 lunar landing.
On that Saturday, July 20, the moon appeared full and rose into a Halloween sky filled with racing clouds that were back-lit by the moon. It was quite a dramatic anniversary for the Appollo 11 mission:
During the past few days, the moon has been a little more than 230,000 miles away. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 20 and 21, 2024.)