A buck moon, followed by a popular meteor shower. When to see them from Kentucky soon

A full “buck” moon will peak over Central Kentucky soon, and Lexington residents can also catch the beginnings of a popular meteor shower later this month.

The buck moon will become full at 6:17 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time Sunday, the Old Farmer’s Almanac reports, but you might get a better view after sunset.

Fayette County will see the sun set at 8:55 p.m. Sunday, according to online clock Time and Date. Since the summer solstice has passed, sunset times will creep up earlier throughout the rest of the summer and into fall.

July’s full moon is known as the buck moon because this time of year is when male deer’s antlers are in full-growth mode, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

The buck full moon is also known as the “thunder” moon , astronomy publication Space.com reports. Many moon names come from Indigenous cultures. The Farmers’ Almanac uses Indigenous moon names, along with monikers from colonial America and other North American sources.

The Bluegrass Amateur Astronomy Club will host a stargazing event at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill July 27 and another Aug. 3 at Raven Run Nature Sanctuary in Lexington.

The Lexington area should see some relief from extreme heat going into the full moon weekend, as the National Weather Service forecasts a high around 87 degrees Fahrenheit Saturday and 88 degrees Sunday, compared to heat index values reaching 102 earlier in the week .

More full moons in 2024

Here’s when to see the rest of 2024’s full moons , with information from Space.com:

• Aug. 19: Sturgeon moon (supermoon and blue moon)

• Sept. 17: Harvest moon (supermoon and partial lunar eclipse)

• Oct. 17: Hunter’s moon (supermoon)

• Nov. 15: Beaver moon (supermoon)

• Dec. 15: Cold moon

The Perseid meteor shower is set to begin July 25, according to Space.com, though the early stages will only see a few meteors per hour at most. The shower will peak around Aug. 11 and Aug. 12 and taper down around Aug. 18.

This year is expected to offer good viewing opportunities for the Perseids because the moon shouldn’t be bright enough to greatly interfere, Space.com reports.

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