ACROSS AMERICA — The full buck moon on Monday, the first of four consecutive supermoons, ushers in an active month for skywatching.

But before the moon turns full, head out and check out the conjunction of Venus and Mars, which will pass within 3 ½ degrees of one another around 3:48 a.m. EDT on Saturday, July 1. You’ll be able to see both planets with the naked eye, weather permitting.

The moon reaches peak illumination at 7:39 a.m. EDT on Monday. But it will reach perigee, its closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, more than 24 hours later, at 6 p.m. EDT Tuesday, when it’s 223,786 miles away.

When the close approach coincides with the full moon cycle, our natural satellite looks bigger, brighter and closer, earning the supermoon moniker. This is a great summer for supermoons. The July supermoon is just a warm-up for August, with the full sturgeon supermoon on the 1st and a second full moon on the 31st, a blue supermoon. And the harvest moon on Sept. 29 is also a supermoon.

Meteors also start flying in July.