Look Up Tonight: Strawberry Moon, Saturn, Northern Lights Dazzle

MICHIGAN — Whatever your plans are in Michigan tonight, you’ll want to look up to the sky. Wednesday night will be a spectacular night for the celestial bodies and flashing lights. That’s right, stargazers are in for a triple treat: the Strawberry Moon, our closest view of Saturn this year, and a chance to see the Northern Lights (For the complete information on seeing the Northern Lights tonight, click here).

June's full moon is called the Strawberry Moon because it signaled to some Native American tribes that it was the time of year to gather ripening strawberries, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. The low arc of the June full moon across the sky means moonlight must travel through more of the Earth's atmosphere, which gives it an orange or yellow tint.

The Strawberry Moon is also called Hot Moon because it's the beginning of summer and Rose Moon, Honey Moon and Hay Moon because it's the time of the first hay harvest, according to USA Today.

Saturn is at "opposition," meaning the planet and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, according to NASA. That also means the ringed planet is as close to the Earth as it gets all year long. It will also be visible with the naked eye all night long, rising in the East around sunset and slowly making its way across the sky before setting in the West around sunrise, according to AccuWeather.

You'll need a telescope to see the planet's famous rings, however, but “if you have never spotted Saturn's rings, now is your chance,” AccuWeather astronomy blogger Dave Samuhel said. Some of Saturn's moons might also be visible with a telescope, NASA added.

Clear skies are in the forecast across Michigan, according to the National Weather Service, with warm nights into the 70s.

Image via Shutterstock

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