Known as the Strawberry Moon, the last full Moon of spring rises early Wednesday, beginning the best time of year to enjoy our celestial neighbor.
Dr. Tyler Richey-Yowell, a postdoctoral fellow at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, said this is the first Moon to appear this low on the horizon in about a year. June’s full Moon is the last of astronomical spring, even though if you ask a meteorologist, summer is already in full swing.
"The Moon going across the night sky is always going to be a little lower because, in the summertime into the summer, the Sun goes higher and higher in the sky just because of our orbit. And so the Moon, being completely opposite of that, gets lower and lower," she said.
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The Strawberry Moon gets its name from the time when the berry is ready for picking, but it also corresponds with the slight hue as the Moon is lower in the sky.
"When it spends more of that time in that lower portion of the sky, you're looking through more of Earth's atmosphere, which makes these moons generally look redder and more golden. And also, they appear bigger," Richey-Yowell said. "The atmosphere actually bends some of the light. And so while there's not really any astronomical significance to moons in the summer, we do actually get cooler, bigger, prettier moons in the summer."
For some in the northern tier and Southeast, the Strawberry Moon may be especially colorful this year. Saharan dust arriving to Florida and crawling up the Southeast coast can also scatter light in a way that creates vibrant sunrises and sunsets, as well as a tint to the Moon. In the North, wildfire smoke from Canada has reduced air quality but also had the same effect on the sky color.
Richey-Yowell said the best time to enjoy the Moon throughout the summer is right after sunset, when the Moon is peeking up over the horizon. During this time, the Moon can appear to have a reddish tint.
For the Strawberry Moon on Wednesday, it will be at its biggest and brightest after midnight (Pacific time) and after 3 a.m. (Eastern time).
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"If you're a night person, that would be the time to go up and see it," she said.
With an earlier time of day to see the Moon in late spring and this summer, it's a good chance to practice photographing our only satellite.
If you plan to use a smartphone or camera, Richey-Yowell recommends finding something to stabilize your device.
"Turning down the saturation on your phone is typically what I do. The Moon's actually just really good for holding up to a telescope as well," she said. "They also make some really nice like phone holders that you can attach to your own personal telescope."
The Strawberry Moon will make good practice for next month. The full Buck Moon appears at its fullest just after 4 p.m. ET on July 11, which will make for a spectacular sunset and Moon.
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