July’s Buck Moon Rises on July 29 as Earth Reaches Aphelion on July 6

Q: The full moon will spoil one meteor shower. When are the best moon-free nights to watch the Perseids instead?

The best moon-free viewing for the Perseids will be the overnight hours of **August 12 into the predawn of August 13, 2026**. Those are the prime nights because the **new moon falls on August 12**, leaving skies essentially free of moonlight during the shower’s peak. That makes the Perseids a much better target than the **Southern Delta Aquariids**, which are the shower most affected by the **July 29 Buck Moon** and its lingering brightness at the end of July. By contrast, the Perseids peak under dark conditions, allowing fainter meteors to be seen. The strongest viewing window is typically **after midnight through dawn**, with the best rates often coming in the **pre-dawn hours of August 13**, when the Perseid radiant is higher in the sky. **August 14** could still offer decent viewing, but activity usually drops off fairly quickly after the peak. For the best results, watch from a dark site away from city lights, give your eyes about **20 to 30 minutes** to adjust, and look broadly overhead or toward the **northeast** rather than staring at one fixed point. No telescope is needed.

Q: Earth is farthest from the Sun today. How much does this actually cool our planet's average global temperature?

Only a small amount. Even though Earth is at aphelion today and receives about 7% less solar energy than at perihelion in early January, that does not translate into a dramatic immediate cooling of the planet. A commonly cited estimate from astronomer Phil Plait is that the temperature effect tied to Earth’s changing distance from the Sun is on the order of about 5 degrees Celsius globally across the full perihelion-to-aphelion swing. But that is a broad, damped effect, not a sudden drop that happens on the day Earth reaches aphelion. The reason is that Earth’s climate system responds slowly. The oceans and atmosphere store and redistribute heat, muting the direct impact of the changing Earth-Sun distance. That is why the Northern Hemisphere can still be in summer while Earth is farthest from the Sun. In practice, seasonal temperature changes are dominated by Earth’s 23.5-degree axial tilt, which changes sun angle and day length far more than the small change in distance does. Aphelion also makes the Sun appear about 3% smaller than in January, but that visual difference has little practical effect on day-to-day weather. So the short answer is that aphelion cools Earth only modestly on a global average basis, and far less than the seasonal warming and cooling caused by axial tilt.

3 articles · Updated · WGME · Jul 6

July’s full Buck Moon will rise on the night of July 29 and stay full into the early hours of July 30.
The moon takes its name from the period when male deer begin regrowing antlers after shedding them in winter.
July also brings several Moon-planet conjunctions, including a notable predawn pairing with Jupiter later in the month.
Those conjunctions are common because the Moon completes an orbit in about 27 days and repeatedly crosses the ecliptic, only appearing close to planets from Earth.
Earth reaches aphelion on July 6—its farthest point from the Sun this year—though the report notes seasons are driven by Earth’s tilt, not distance.