Here’s What To Know About Tonight’s ‘Strawberry Moon’

This lunar phenomenon is named for its occurrence in June—peak strawberry season.

Step outside tonight, June 21, at 9:08 p.m. ET and you’ll be looking up at a full Strawberry Moon.

First thing’s first: What is a Strawberry Moon? The name can be traced all the way to the Old Farmers’ Almanac; full and new moons were used to track seasons, and Native American tribes (according to the Austin-American Statesman: the Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota, and Lakota tribes) named this lunar event to mark peak strawberry season. (The name does not, sadly, imply that you’ll look up to see a crimson orb in the sky.) This full moon, occurring one day after the summer solstice, will appear bigger and brighter than most. It’ll also be viewable around the globe, remaining full around its peak for three days, meaning that folks all over will be able to marvel at the Strawberry Moon.

As was reported to CNN Science by Preston Dyches, a science communicator with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, this particular Strawberry Moon also represents a slight illusion in the sky, ascending in a “lower than average path” which will in turn reflect an orange-red hue from the horizon. This happens because summer solstice is the day when the sun appears highest in the sky for the Northern Hemisphere, and a full moon lies opposite the sun.

Dyches told to CNN that the illusion effect is the “result of the moon’s reflected light having to travel a longer distance throughout Earth’s atmosphere, scattering away most blue wavelengths (which are shorter than red wavelengths).”

Because we will see the moon lower in the sky than we’re used to, it’ll also likely appear bigger—an optical illusion based on our perspective of the moon compared to objects near the horizon. For the exact time the moon will be fullest in your area, check timeanddate.com.

Grab your binoculars and set up your lawn chair for a little bit of lunar magic to kick off our first official Southern summer weekend. We’ll bring the Moon Pies.

Happy moon-gazing!

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