How to see July's Buck Moon light up the night sky

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers / Nadezna Image caption, The nearly full Moon lit up the night sky on Tuesday 28 July ahead of the official Buck Moon rising on 29 July

The July full Moon, also known as the Buck Moon, will light up the night sky across the UK on Wednesday.

The second of three full Moons this summer, it is set to peak at 15:36 BST on 29 July.

The exact moment of its maximum fullness will be missed across the UK as the Moon will be just below the horizon.

However, skygazers won't miss out; it will still appear as-full to the naked eye overnight on Wednesday.

As with the other full Moons across the year, it gets its name from events happening in nature around the same time.

Full Moons were given nicknames around the world as people used them to help keep track of time and monitor the changing seasons.

The July full Moon gets its name from the time of year when male deer, or bucks, rapidly grow a new set of antlers.

The Royal Observatory in Greenwich also refers to this Moon as the Thunder Moon, due to the summer storms that often happen in this month.

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS / KATIE JADE WHITE Image caption, The moon appeared nearly as full on Tuesday evening ahead of the Buck Moon rising on Wednesday

Based on current forecast models there is a good chance of seeing the Buck Moon across much of the UK on Wednesday night.

For most of England the weather will be very mild, with light winds and largely clear skies after dark so viewing conditions should be favourable.

Across north-west England and Wales the remnants of a cold weather front might obscure the sky, but very little rain is expected and the cloud could break.

In Northern Ireland the weather is expected to be a little more mixed, with variable cloud, the odd shower and some clear spells.

Scotland though is likely to see the largest amount of cloud, especially in western areas. Eastern and northern districts will have better luck with clear spells between any showers.

The Buck Moon is just one of a number of celestial sights to look for this summer.

The Perseid meteor shower is also active throughout the rest of July and much of August.

The peak takes place overnight on 12 August into the predawn hours of 13 August.

The shower will also coincide with a spectacular solar eclipse , external .

The 12 August eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible over mainland Europe since 1999, with Spain and northern Portugal being the only places to see totality.

In the UK, we will be able to see a partial eclipse when the Moon will cover around 90% of the Sun at its peak.

A partial lunar eclipse will then follow in the early hours of 28 August.

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