Make plans to look up to the sky this week when the second supermoon of 2022 arrives.
The big picture: The moon was bright Monday night ahead of the so-called strawberry moon that starts at 7:52 a.m. ET Tuesday when it appears opposite the sun, according to NASA.
June strawberry moon 2022
- While Tuesday’s full moon reaches peak illumination in the morning, it won’t be visible until later that night when it “drifts above the horizon,” Almanac.com explains.
- NASA says the moon will be closest to the earth at 7:24 p.m. ET Tuesday and that the moon will appear full through Wednesday morning.
- Times vary by time zones and you can find your local times on the Almanac’s Moonrise and Moonset calculator as well as on Timeanddate.com/astronomy.
Flashback: The name “Strawberry Moon” has been used by Native American Algonquin tribes to mark the June ripening of strawberries ready to be gathered, according to the Almanac.
- In Europe, it’s also known as the Mead, Honey or Rose Moon and the word honeymoon is said to come from this moon, NASA notes in its June-July moon guide.
Meanwhile, the name of the last full moon of spring is said to have nothing to do with the moon’s hue or appearance.
- But NASA says particularly “for Europe’s higher latitudes, when the full moon is low, it shines through more atmosphere, making it more likely to have a reddish color (for the same reasons that sunrises and sunsets are red).”
What they’re saying: “With the naked eye, you can see the vast highlands and lowlands of the moon, which can appear to be certain shapes and generate stories about those shapes, depending on the culture you follow,” Space.com says of full moons.
- “Binoculars or a telescope will show you craters, mountains and other huge features on the moon’s surface,” Space.com adds.
What’s next: July will also have a supermoon with the “Super Buck Moon” on July 13, according to Timeanddate.com.
- According to the site, it’s called a buck moon to “signify the new antlers that emerge on a deer buck’s forehead around this time.”
- It is also called Thunder Moon, Hay Moon and Wyrt Moon.