This Week’s Full Strawberry Moon Is A Micromoon: What To Know

The full strawberry moon Tuesday night and Wednesday morning has a special distinction.

It’s the opposite of a supermoon. It’s a micromoon, a term used to describe a full moon that occurs at apogee its farthest point from Earth in its orbit, according to NASA. Perigee is about 226,000 miles from Earth, while apogee is about 251,000 miles away.

Because it’s a micromoon, this month’s strawberry moon will appear about 14 percent smaller and 30 percent dimmer than regular full moons. For a supermoon, Moon gazers will have to wait until fall, with the first of three consecutive supermoons occurring on Oct. 6 with the full harvest moon.

The full moon reaches peak illumination at about 3:44 a.m. Eastern Time Wednesday. The best time to see it is as it rises around dusk. The orb will appear to be golden yellow and will hang low in the sky, as is always the case with June full moons in the Northern Hemisphere, according to LiveScience, which wrote:

“That’s because a full moon is, by definition, opposite the sun, so it mirrors our star’s position in the sky. Because the summer solstice occurs on the night of June 20 (or June 21 GMT), when the sun is as high in the sky as it can get, the closest full moon is the lowest of the year. That means it will rise during dusk in the southeastern sky; drift across the southern sky, never getting too far above the southern horizon; and set in the southwest at dawn.”

The June full moon is called the strawberry moon because it occurs during the relatively short season for harvesting the sweet, succulent berries. It’s also sometimes called the honey or mead moon, the rose or flower moon, the hot moon, the hoe moon, the planting moon and others, depending on what activity was important to those who bestowed the moniker.

Look Up For Random Fireballs

Meteor showers don’t return to the celestial calendar until July, when the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids peak at the same time, from about July 29-31.

Of course, stargazers can see falling stars when there are no active meteor showers, which occur when Earth passes through a stream of debris left by a comet or asteroid. Sporadic meteors can also appear randomly at any time, according to NASA.

For example, a spectacular fireball lit up the skies over the Northeast early last week, prompting more than 100 reports to the American Meteor Society.

The meteor streaked across the atmosphere around 8:07 p.m. on June 2, glowing brightly enough to turn heads in at least seven states — Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.

Related:
2025 Guide To Meteor Showers, Supermoons And Other Celestial Events
Fireball Blazes Over Northeast Sky, Wows Stargazers