Strawberry Moon 2024: Everything you need to know about June full moon

According to Bob Bonadurer, director of the planetarium at the Milwaukee Public Museum, the strawberry moon is the most colorful of the year because it travels low and shallow path across the sky

For skywatchers, the June full moon will include a number of special treats. Astronomers predict that this moon will appear quite large, possibly even quite colorful, and will also be unusually low in the sky. The strawberry full moon will rise in the evening sky over the United States on Friday, June 21, the day after the summer solstice. 

Although, it won't seem to be a strawberry, nor be red, astronomers say, in spite of the fact that it might have a golden color. The Old Farmer's Almanac described the June 2024 full moon as "the lowest we've seen in years" because it occurs close to the solstice, when the sun is at its highest point of the year. 

This is known as the "Moon Illusion." "On the night of June 21, soon after sunset look towards the southeast to watch the full moon transcend the skyline," the Old Farmer's Almanac suggests. "It will appear large and golden-colored there."

When is the full strawberry moon?

The strawberry moon which this year is the first full moon of summer will turn out to be full at 9:08 pm on Friday June 21. In any case, the moon will show up full for around three days close to this time, from Thursday night through Sunday morning, as per NASA's Gordon Johnston.

Why is the strawberry full moon colourful, large, and low?

According to Bob Bonadurer, the director of the planetarium at the Milwaukee Public Museum, the strawberry moon is the most colorful of the year because it travels low and shallow across the sky. 

The low arc of the June full moon across the sky makes it necessary for more moonlight to pass through the Earth's atmosphere, giving it an orange or yellow tint. 

NASA claims that this will also be the year's lowest full moon, reaching only 21.9 degrees above the southern horizon at 1:20 am on Saturday.

Why is it named "strawberry moon"? 

June's full moon has traditionally been nicknamed the strawberry moon, however don't be deceived by the name. Its origin doesn't have anything to do with the moon's tint or appearance, as per the Almanac. 

Native American Algonquin tribes possessing the northeastern US alongside the Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota people have utilized the strawberry moon to observe the ideal opportunity for gathering ripened June-bearing strawberries, the almanac mentioned. 

The Maine Farmer's Almanac began publishing Native American names for full moons during the 1930s, as indicated by NASA. The mead or honey moon and the rose moon are two additional European names for the June full moon.