Stunning once-a-year supermoon shines bright in Oxford skies

The Buck Moon is the traditional name for July’s full moon, a term widely credited to Native American and later colonial folklore.

This notes that this is the time of year when male deer, or bucks, are growing their new antlers after shedding them in spring.

This year’s Buck Moon reached its formal peak on Wednesday (July 29), at around 3.36pm, when it was actually just below the UK horizon.

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The July supermoon in the Oxfordshire skies. (Image: Ian Marriott)

Stargazers in Oxford and across much of England were still able to see it appearing almost perfectly full once it had risen after sunset.

Shots taken in Port Meadow show the sublime red moon shining bright over the city, with other striking images captured from around the local area.

While the name might sound rare, the Buck Moon is simply July’s full moon, and it appears once every year.

2026’s edition has attracted extra attention because it is the second full moon of the summer and comes just two weeks before a widely trailed total solar eclipse on Wednesday, August 12.

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The view from North Hinksey. (Image: Lucie Johnson)

This will sweep across Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia and Spain, while the UK sees a very deep partial eclipse with up to about 90–95 per cent of the Sun covered, depending on location.

Astronomers say this will be the closest thing to a total eclipse visible from Britain until the 2090s, with London expected to see the Moon obscure around 91 per cent of the Sun at about 7.13pm.

The next full moon after the Buck Moon is the Sturgeon Moon on Friday, August 28, which will again look full for a night or so either side of that date for sky‑watchers in Oxfordshire.