The Thunder Moon rolls across our night skies this week. Native Americans gave the July full moon its name. (It also is known as the Buck Moon.) The moon will reach its peak fullness Thursday. But baring excessive cloud cover, it will be quite luminous most of the week. While you're basking in the light of the moon, look up in the night sky toward the southeast about an hour after sunset. Mars is closer to Earth that it has been in 15 years. It is big. It is bright. And, of course, it is red. (Not that we needed an excuse to enjoy a stellar summer show, but... cool.) MORE ►Mars is getting bigger, brighter |