Stag-gering! Incredible images capture July’s ‘buck moon’ — named after the season when young male deer grow their antlers — lighting up the sky above New York
- Last night was also a penumbral lunar eclipse, with the moon passing into the lightest part of Earth’s shadow
- This is distinct from a full or partial lunar eclipse, when the darkest part of the shadow is cast onto the moon
- For viewers in the United States, the event began shortly after 23:00 EDT last night and peaked at 12:29 EDT
- But last night’s eclipse was not discernible by eye, as only 35 per cent of the visible moon was in the shadow
- This penumbral eclipse was the third of four to take place this year — the next will fall on 29–30 November
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Revelers celebrating July 4 in New York were wowed by a dazzling ‘buck moon’ rising above the Empire State building.
Across the US the supermoon, named after the season when young male deer grow their antlers, took on an orange hue as it hung low in the late evening skies.
It was also a lunar eclipse of sorts, with half the sun’s light blocked out – making for these eerie and spectacular images.
The moon, which appears annually at the beginning of summer, is often also called the ‘thunder moon’ because of the frequency of thunder storms during the hot, dry summer months.
July’s eclipse started at 11.08pm in the US (Eastern Time) and ended Sunday at 1.53am – but it was only 35 per cent visible, according to Space.com.
A full lunar eclipse can turn the moon red but during this penumbral eclipse only the outer shadow of the Earth, known as the penumbra, fell onto the face of the moon. It caused only a slight darkening.
The buck moon rises behind Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on July 5, 2020 as seen from Kearny, New Jersey
The moon, beginning to wane, rises beyond a downtown office building Sunday, July 5, in Kansas City, Mo. The penumbral lunar eclipse was the third of four
A plane flies across the moon as the orange-hued satellite is seen over Lower Manhattan in New York City, United States on July 5
Revelers look out over Wisconsin Point as fireworks were shot off and a waxing gibbous moon rose over the horizon, seen from Superior, Wis., Saturday, July 4
Pictured: A Fourth of July fireworks display lighting up the sky in Stillwell, Kanas, as the full moon rises in the distance. The eclipse 11:08 pm in the US and in early hours of the next morning in the UK
Pictured: The moon passing by the Empire State Building before Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular in New York City
Pictured: Full moon seen between the clouds over Lower Manhattan in New York City on July 5. A penumbral lunar eclipse happens only when the outer shadow of the earth is on the face of the moon
Pictured: The moon seen over Lower Manhattan in New York City on July 5, 202. A full eclipse happens when the sun, the moon and Earth are exactly aligned
Pictured: A triangle of Saturn, the moon and Jupiter rise over One World Trade Center in New York City on July 5, 2020 as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey
Pictured: The buck moon rises behind Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on July 5, 2020 as seen from Kearny, New Jersey
Pictured: The buck moon rises behind Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on July 5. July’s full moon is called a ‘buck moon’ because it comes at the beginning of Summer when male deer grow their new antlers