The Buck Moon, July’s full moon, reaches full at 11:45 a.m. EDT (15:45 UTC) on Sunday, July 18, 2027. It is the farthest full moon of 2027, a micromoon, and it barely grazes Earth’s outer shadow.
The Buck Moon is the traditional name for the full moon of July. In 2027, it reaches full in the late morning of Sunday, July 18, in every US time zone, while the Moon is below the horizon across the United States.
At 405,973 km from Earth, it is the most distant full moon of 2027 and looks about 12% smaller across than January’s supermoon.
It also brings a penumbral lunar eclipse so shallow that it lasts under 12 minutes and cannot be seen, and it coincides with Guru Purnima in India.
This page gives the exact time in every US time zone, moonrise times for four US cities, the Buck Moon dates from 2026 to 2031, and where the name comes from.
Table of Contents
When is the Buck Moon 2027?
The Buck Moon 2027 is full at 15:45 UTC on Sunday, July 18, 2027, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. Moonblink gives 15:44:51 UTC, which rounds to the same minute.
The table below converts it to US and international time zones.
| Time zone | Buck Moon 2027 (exact full moon) |
|---|---|
| UTC | Sunday, July 18, 3:45 p.m. |
| US Eastern | Sunday, July 18, 11:45 a.m. EDT |
| US Central | Sunday, July 18, 10:45 a.m. CDT |
| US Mountain | Sunday, July 18, 9:45 a.m. MDT |
| US Pacific | Sunday, July 18, 8:45 a.m. PDT |
| Alaska | Sunday, July 18, 7:45 a.m. AKDT |
| Hawaii | Sunday, July 18, 5:45 a.m. HST |
| London | Sunday, July 18, 4:45 p.m. BST |
| India | Sunday, July 18, 9:15 p.m. IST |
| Sydney | Monday, July 19, 1:45 a.m. AEST |
The 2027 Buck Moon falls on Sunday, July 18, across the Americas, Europe, Africa, India and China, but on Monday, July 19, in Japan, Korea, eastern Australia and New Zealand.
Any time zone 8 hours and 15 minutes or more ahead of UTC moves it to July 19, so Perth (UTC+8) keeps July 18 at 11:45 p.m. while Sydney and Tokyo move to July 19.
The full moon before it is the Strawberry Moon of Friday, June 18, and the next is the Sturgeon Moon of Tuesday, August 17.
Buck Moon moonrise times in US cities
The exact full moon comes in daylight across the United States, 3 to 6 hours after the Moon sets, so the evenings of Saturday, July 17, and Sunday, July 18, are the times to see it.
The table below gives moonrise, sunset, moonset, and the share of the disc lit for four US cities, from the Naval Observatory’s rise and set data.
| City | Saturday, July 17: moonrise (lit) | Saturday, July 17: sunset | Sunday, July 18: moonset | Sunday, July 18: moonrise (lit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (EDT) | 8:05 p.m. (99%) | 8:25 p.m. | 5:24 a.m. | 8:38 p.m. (100%) |
| Chicago (CDT) | 8:05 p.m. (99%) | 8:23 p.m. | 5:17 a.m. | 8:37 p.m. (100%) |
| Denver (MDT) | 8:09 p.m. (99%) | 8:26 p.m. | 5:37 a.m. | 8:42 p.m. (100%) |
| Los Angeles (PDT) | 7:46 p.m. (99%) | 8:04 p.m. | 5:48 a.m. | 8:22 p.m. (100%) |
On Saturday, July 17, the Moon rises 17 to 20 minutes before sunset in all four cities. On Sunday, July 18, it rises 14 to 19 minutes after sunset.
Both evenings show a Moon that looks full to the eye. On the morning of July 18, the Moon sets before sunrise in all four cities, between 5:17 and 5:48 a.m. local time, from about 3 hours before full in Los Angeles to more than 6 hours before full in New York.
The Buck Moon is 2027’s micromoon
A micromoon is a full moon near apogee, the Moon’s farthest point from Earth. The Buck Moon is the farthest full moon of 2027, at 405,973 km, according to Moonblink.
TheSkyLive gives 405,979 km and calls it a micromoon, with an apparent diameter of 29.42 arcminutes, 5.30% smaller than the Moon’s average size.
iCalendrier, using astrophysicist Fred Espenak’s definition, lists three micromoons in 2027, on June 19, July 18, and August 17, and the July full moon is the farthest of the three.
| 2027 full moon | Distance from Earth | How it compares with the Buck Moon |
|---|---|---|
| Wolf Moon, January 22 (supermoon) | 357,644 km | 48,329 km closer; about 13.5% wider |
| Strawberry Moon, June 18 | 401,951 km | 4,022 km closer |
| Buck Moon, July 18 | 405,973 km | Farthest full moon of 2027 |
| Sturgeon Moon, August 17 | 405,078 km | 895 km closer |
The size comparison comes from the ratio of the two distances: the Buck Moon is 13.5% farther away than the January supermoon, so the supermoon looks about 13.5% wider, or the Buck Moon about 12% narrower.
The difference is hard to judge by eye, because there is nothing in the sky to compare the Moon with.
The July 18, 2027 penumbral lunar eclipse
The Buck Moon passes through the very edge of Earth’s penumbra, the faint outer part of its shadow.
According to Wikipedia, the penumbral eclipse begins at 15:56:57 UTC, peaks at 16:02:53 UTC, and ends at 16:08:45 UTC, lasting 11 minutes and 47 seconds, with a penumbral magnitude of 0.0032.
NASA’s eclipse list gives the greatest eclipse at 16:03 UTC, a duration of about 12 minutes and a penumbral magnitude of 0.0014.
| Eclipse stage | UTC | US Eastern (EDT) | India (IST) | Sydney (AEST), July 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penumbral eclipse begins | 15:57 | 11:56 a.m. | 9:26 p.m. | 1:56 a.m. |
| Greatest eclipse | 16:03 | 12:02 p.m. | 9:32 p.m. | 2:02 a.m. |
| Penumbral eclipse ends | 16:09 | 12:08 p.m. | 9:38 p.m. | 2:08 a.m. |
The eclipse cannot be seen from the United States, where it happens around midday with the Moon below the horizon, and it cannot be seen in practice anywhere else either.
Wikipedia says it will be visible in principle over Asia, East Africa and Australia, but that the Moon will barely clip the edge of the penumbra, and that some sources list the event as a miss.
It is the last eclipse of Saros series 110. The year’s next lunar eclipse, on August 17, is deeper and fully visible from the Americas.
Guru Purnima and the 2027 Buck Moon
Guru Purnima, when devotees in India pay respects to their gurus and remember Vyasa, the compiler of the Vedas, is held on the full moon of the month of Ashadha. In 2027, it falls on Sunday, July 18, according to Dekho Panchang and KundliGPT.
The exact full moon comes at 9:15 p.m. IST that evening, so in India the Buck Moon and Guru Purnima share the same date.
Buck Moon dates for 2026 to 2031
The Buck Moon shifts about 11 days earlier each year, then jumps later when a 13th full moon falls into the year.
| Year | Buck Moon (Eastern Time) | Pacific Time | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wednesday, July 29, 10:36 a.m. EDT | Wednesday, July 29, 7:36 a.m. PDT | Jul 29, 14:36 |
| 2027 | Sunday, July 18, 11:45 a.m. EDT | Sunday, July 18, 8:45 a.m. PDT | Jul 18, 15:45 |
| 2028 | Thursday, July 6, 2:11 p.m. EDT | Thursday, July 6, 11:11 a.m. PDT | Jul 6, 18:11 |
| 2029 | Wednesday, July 25, 9:36 a.m. EDT | Wednesday, July 25, 6:36 a.m. PDT | Jul 25, 13:36 |
| 2030 | Sunday, July 14, 10:12 p.m. EDT | Sunday, July 14, 7:12 p.m. PDT | Jul 15, 02:12 |
| 2031 | Friday, July 4, 3:01 p.m. EDT | Friday, July 4, 12:01 p.m. PDT | Jul 4, 19:01 |
The 2031 Buck Moon falls on Independence Day, Friday, July 4, 2031, at 3:01 p.m. EDT, so it rises full on the evening of the Fourth. The 2030 Buck Moon falls on July 14 in the United States but July 15 in UTC.
What is the Buck Moon?
The Buck Moon is a traditional name for the full moon of July. Like every full moon, it is the instant the Moon stands opposite the Sun, 180 degrees away along the ecliptic, so its whole Earth-facing side is lit. The name does not reflect any astronomical difference from other full moons.
Where the Buck Moon name comes from
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, July’s full moon is called the Buck Moon because the antlers of male deer, or bucks, are in full-growth mode at this time of year; bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year.
The Farmers’ Almanac gives the same explanation, saying male whitetail deer carry their fastest-growing antlers in the second half of July, still soft and covered in velvet.
The Maine Farmers’ Almanac began publishing such moon names in the 1930s, and the 1937 edition credited them to “our early English ancestors,” according to Wikipedia, so the origin of the full set of names is disputed.
Other names for the July full moon
The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists these July full moon names, with the peoples it attributes them to. It notes that the names applied to the whole lunar month, not only the full moon.
| Name | Attributed to |
|---|---|
| Feather Moulting Moon | Cree |
| Salmon Moon | Tlingit |
| Berry Moon | Anishinaabe |
| Halfway Summer Moon | Anishinaabe |
| Moon When the Chokecherries Are Ripe | Dakota |
| Month of the Ripe Corn Moon | Cherokee |
| Raspberry Moon | Algonquin, Ojibwe |
| Thunder Moon | Western Abenaki |
The Farmers’ Almanac adds the Hay Moon, tied to the second cutting of hay, and the Mead Moon, an older English name.
The 2027 Buck Moon’s zodiac sign
At the Buck Moon, the Sun is in Cancer, so the Moon stands opposite it in Capricorn. In astrology, this is the full moon in Capricorn.
The Sun moves into Leo at 9:04 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 22, four days later. The astronomical constellation is different: TheSkyLive places the Moon in the constellation Sagittarius at this full moon, because the zodiac signs and the constellations no longer line up.
How to see the Buck Moon
The Buck Moon is visible to the naked eye wherever the sky is clear. These steps give the best view in the United States:
- Choose your evening. On Saturday, July 17, 2027, the 99%-lit Moon rises before sunset; on Sunday, July 18, it rises 14 to 19 minutes after sunset.
- Find a spot with a clear view low to the southeast, since the midsummer full moon rises south of due east and stays fairly low all night.
- On July 17, look from moonrise, between 7:46 and 8:09 p.m. local daylight time in the four cities, to see it rise in a bright sky.
- On July 18, watch from about 8:22 to 8:42 p.m. local time for moonrise, then through the first hour of darkness.
What the Buck Moon is not
Several terms are linked to the July full moon. The table below sets out the differences.
| Term | What it means | Relation to the 2027 Buck Moon |
|---|---|---|
| Buck Moon | Traditional name for July’s full moon | Sunday, July 18, 2027 |
| Micromoon | A full moon near the Moon’s farthest point from Earth | Yes; the farthest full moon of 2027 |
| Supermoon | A full moon near the Moon’s closest point to Earth | No; 2027’s only supermoon is January 22 |
| Penumbral eclipse | The Moon passing through Earth’s faint outer shadow | Yes, but too shallow to see, and not visible from the US |
| Total lunar eclipse | The Moon passing fully into Earth’s dark shadow | No; there is no total lunar eclipse in 2027 |
| Thunder Moon | Another name for July’s full moon | The same full moon, July 18, 2027 |
Frequently asked questions
When is the Buck Moon in 2027?
The Buck Moon in 2027 is on Sunday, July 18, at 11:45 a.m. EDT (15:45 UTC), according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. In Pacific Time, it falls at 8:45 a.m. PDT. The Moon is below the horizon across the United States at that moment, so the best evenings to see it are Saturday, July 17, and Sunday, July 18.
Is the 2027 Buck Moon a micromoon?
Yes. The 2027 Buck Moon is 405,973 km from Earth, the farthest full moon of the year, according to Moonblink. TheSkyLive calls it a micromoon that looks 5.30% smaller than the Moon’s average size. The January 22 supermoon, at 357,644 km, appears about 13.5% wider.
Is there an eclipse during the Buck Moon 2027?
Technically, yes. The July 18 full moon brings a penumbral lunar eclipse, peaking at 16:03 UTC, but it lasts about 12 minutes, and the Moon only clips the edge of Earth’s outer shadow. Wikipedia says it will be impossible to see in practice, and it occurs with the Moon below the horizon in the United States.
Why is it called the Buck Moon?
The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the Farmers’ Almanac both say the name comes from male deer, or bucks, whose new antlers grow fastest in July. Other July names include the Thunder Moon, the Salmon Moon, the Raspberry Moon, and the Hay Moon.
When is the Buck Moon in 2028?
The 2028 Buck Moon is on Thursday, July 6, 2028, at 2:11 p.m. EDT (18:11 UTC), according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. The 2029 Buck Moon falls on Wednesday, July 25, and the 2031 Buck Moon falls on Independence Day, Friday, July 4, 2031.
What sign is the Buck Moon in 2027?
The 2027 Buck Moon is in Capricorn. At full moon, the Moon sits opposite the Sun, and on July 18, 2027, the Sun is in Cancer, which it leaves for Leo on July 22. In astrology, this is called the full moon in Capricorn. In the sky, the Moon sits in the constellation Sagittarius.
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