How to See July's Buck Moon Over the UK on 29 July
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- The July Buck Moon reaches peak fullness at 15:36 BST on 29 July — the second of three full Moons this summer — but UK viewers will miss the exact peak since the Moon sits below the horizon at that moment, appearing as-full overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday
- The Buck Moon's name comes from the time of year when male deer rapidly grow new antlers, while the Royal Observatory in Greenwich also calls it the Thunder Moon due to July's summer storms; other names include the Hay Moon
- England is forecast to have largely clear skies on the night of 29 July with light winds and mild temperatures, while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland face more variable cloud and the odd shower, with Scotland's western areas likeliest to see prolonged cloud
- The Perseid meteor shower is active through the rest of July and much of August, peaking overnight on 12 August into the predawn hours of 13 August
- The 12 August total solar eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible over mainland Europe since 1999, with totality confined to Spain and northern Portugal; the UK will see a partial eclipse with the Moon covering around 90% of the Sun at peak
- A partial lunar eclipse will then follow in the early hours of 28 August, capping a run of three major celestial events in one summer
Why it matters: Clear skies forecast across most of England on 29 July mean millions of viewers can see the Buck Moon at full appearance with no equipment, and August stacks a rare lineup: the Perseid peak overnight on 12–13 August coincides with the first total solar eclipse over mainland Europe since 1999, visible as a ~90% partial eclipse from the UK.
