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'Buck moon': July's full moon has an interesting name - and history

Buck moon

June brought us the rare sight of the "strawberry moon" during the summer solstice, and on Tuesday, July brought us ... the "buck moon"?

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July's full moon is nicknamed after the woodland creature because Native Americans used the animal's growth patterns to track the seasons.

According to the "Old Farmer's Almanac," tribes noticed bucks would sprout new antlers around this time of year and named the moon after the trend.

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And "buck" isn't the only nickname this full moon has. Some also call it the "thunder moon" or "hay moon" because farmers start to store their hay in preparation for this season's stormy weather.

Stargazers were able to catch a glimpse of the "buck moon" Tuesday starting about 6:56 p.m.

>> Click here or scroll down to see the photos that skywatchers posted to social media

This video includes clips from Stephan S / CC BY 3.0 and earthspace101 / CC BY 3.0 and images from Getty Images. Music provided courtesy of APM Music.

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