July's full Buck Supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of 2022

The month of July is bringing with it a glowing full Buck Supermoon, and you might want to mark your calendars for the special night — it’ll be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year.

The full Buck Supermoon, also known as the Raspberry Moon, is expected on Wednesday, July 13, towards the end of the evening twilight hours. According to NASA, we’re going to see more than just one celestial body in its glory.

The fourth brightest star in our night sky, Arcturus, which is located around 37 light-years from us will be visible, along with Vega, the fifth brightest star some 25 light-years from earth. It’s double the mass of our sun and will shine 40 times brighter.

The Old Farmers’ Almanac says that the full Buck Moon will reach “peak illumination” around 2:38 pm ET (5:38 pm PT). It’ll be closer to the Earth than any other full moon of 2022.

“It will be below the horizon at that time, so plan to look towards the southeast after sunset to watch it rise into the sky,” the Almanac advises.

Hang around for a view when the moon’s closer to the horizon — it appears bigger at the time than it does all day.

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If you’re wondering where the Buck Moon gets its name, it’s historically been called so because male deer are in “full-growth mode” and shed their antlers to regrow better, bigger ones.

Culturally, it has been given many other names by Indigenous communities — Feather Moulting Moon (Cree), Berry Moon (Anishinaabe), Salmon Moon (Tlingit), Raspberry Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe), Ripe Corn Moon (Cherokee), and Moon When the Chokecherries are Ripe (Dakota).

If the weather is stormy or warm, it’s also called Thunder Moon (Western Abenaki) and Halfway Summer Moon (Anishinaabe).

Happy moon-gazing!