Strawberry Moon: Everything You Need to Know About June's Rose Moon

Full Moon
A plane flies in front of a full moon. REUTERS/Toby Melville

On the night of Thursday, June 28, a strawberry moon will illuminate the sky until the morning of Friday, June 29.

June's full moon is known as a "strawberry moon" because Algonquin tribes would use it to signal the time to start picking wild strawberries, according to Farmer's Almanac. It's also known as a Rose Moon, Honey Moon, Mead Moon, and Hot Moon.

However, the strawberry moon is not named for its color or any resemblance to food. It will not look significantly different than any other full moon.

It's easy to see a full moon anywhere, but if you want the complete night experience, you can see the night sky better if you get further away from the light pollution of the city. If you can organize a camping trip, go as far as you can from civilization to get the darkest sky showing the brightest details of a starry night.

The exact peak of the strawberry moon will be at 12:53 EST on Friday, according to Bustle, but the moon should appear similar in fullness to the human eye at any time of the night. When the moon is closer to the horizon, it looks larger—but that's just an illusion.

During most months, the full moon only makes one appearance. A second full moon in a month is called a "blue moon." The moon—or at least the way it appears to us here on earth—goes through phases where it "waxes" (appears fuller) and "wanes" (appears less full.)

It's easy to tell if a moon is waxing or waning. If you live in the northern hemisphere, remember "DOC:" When the moon looks like a "D," as in the curve is on the right side, it is getting closer to the "O," or full shape. When it's shaped like a "C," or the curve is on the left, it's getting further from the full "O." (Just don't listen to the lyrics at the beginning of Crescent Moon by Cowboy Junkies—the mnemonic is catchy, but wrong.)

Uncommon Knowledge

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Kristin is a science journalist in New York who has lived in DC, Boston, LA, and the SF Bay Area. ... Read more

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