Full Buck Moon rises as meteor showers peak this week

A deep orange full Buck Moon will rise in the southeast sky on Wednesday, July 31, marking the traditional "Buck Moon" named for the time male deer grow antlers. The moonrise occurs two weeks before a total solar eclipse scheduled for August 12, when the Moon will completely cover the Sun for observers in a narrow path across eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain.

The same night also brings the peak of the Delta Aquariid meteor shower, which runs from July 12 to August 23. Although the shower often produces faint meteors, observers can still see brighter fireballs by looking away from the Moon and using a building or tree as a shield. The Alpha Capricornids, also active, typically generate about five meteors per hour, some of which are bright.

Astronomy enthusiasts are advised to consult online planetarium tools such as Stellarium for precise viewing times based on their location in North America or mid-northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Solar-eclipse glasses will be required for the partial phases of the August 12 eclipse visible across Western Europe and North America.