Tonight: Strawberry Moon to delight stargazers ahead of summer solstice
The final full moon before the start of astronomical summer is about to rise, and has a nickname that does back hundreds of years.
Chris Palma, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State Eberly College of Science, shares the top astronomy events to watch this June from the Strawberry Moon to the summer solstice.
The upcoming solstice on June 20 will mark the official start to astronomical summer across the Northern Hemisphere, but before the changing of the seasons, there is one more night sky event that is about to unfold.
The full Strawberry Moon will rise Tuesday evening and continue to shine into Wednesday morning, a sight that can be seen around the world.
June's full moon nickname dates back to the Indigenous Peoples of the northeastern United States, who recognized that the strawberry harvest season typically began around the same time as the month's full moon, Chris Palma, the professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, told AccuWeather.
"But interestingly, this moon, where the sun is very high in the sky, the moon is actually going to be very low in the sky. So there's a chance it will actually look a little bit reddish or pink, and, and so that may also be part of the origin of the name," Palma said.
Strawberry Full Moon rises over Manhattan in New York City, United States on June 14, 2022. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Similar to the Strawberry Moon nickname, there are other unofficial titles for June's full moon that date back hundreds of years, including the Green Corn Moon, the Blooming Moon and the Hatching Moon.
Stargazers who miss out on the Strawberry Moon Tuesday night can step outside and look skyward Wednesday night, as the moon will still appear full.
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