Look Up! Strawberry Moon Coming Friday Night
- by Carmen Reese
- in Science
- — Nov 30, 2020
When it comes to naming a full moon, the process usually depends on the native American regions and seasons that first appeared on Maine Farmer's Almanac.
This month's full moon is called the "Strawberry Moon" in North America because it served as a signal to early tribal colonies that wild strawberries were ripened and ready for harvesting.
"So June's full Moon naturally came to be known as the Strawberry Moon, a name that was universal to every tribe". According to NASA, the moon will still be full from early Sunday morning, June 7.
Unfortunately for those in North America, the penumbral lunar eclipse won't be visible because the moon becomes full during daylight hours when it's below the horizon.
Other names for the first full moon is June are Rose Moon and Flower Moon.
What is the "strawberry moon" and when can you see it?
Eclipses of this sort are usually hard to observe, and the moon often appears to turn red as it passed through the Earth's shadow, directly behind the planet. In this phenomenon, the Earth places itself between the Sun and the moon and forms a line, which is not straight.
The next full Moon will be on Friday afternoon, June 5, appearing opposite the Sun (in Earth-based longitude) at 3:12 PM EDT. But the color may appear darker or slightly reddish for skywatchers in Europe and Asia due to a partial penumbral eclipse of the Moon.
The moon will also cross a portion of the Earth's shadow on June 5, triggering a partial penumbral eclipse. "Because the moon is farther away from Earth, it seems smaller and does not block the entire view of the sun, thus creating a "ring of fire" effect", PAGASA explained.
"Unlike a full lunar or solar eclipse, the visual effect of a penumbral eclipse is usually so minimal that it can be hard to perceive at all!" The inner part of the Earth's shadow is called the umbra. The dimming effect won't be as a dramatic as a total eclipse and will be hard to detect for the casual watcher staring up at the sky.
Penumbral shadows are a function of the structure of the shadow of Earth cast back onto the Moon. After today, a solar eclipse will happen on June 21 followed by another lunar eclipse next month on July 4-5.
