Look up to see June's full strawberry moon, the Milky Way and multiple planets
June's full moon, nicknamed the strawberry moon, will shine brightly on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
The moon will be at its fullest at 3:44 a.m. ET Wednesday but will still appear bright and low in the east after sunset on Tuesday, as well as low in the west opposite the sunrise on Wednesday morning, per EarthSky.
The summer solstice falls this month, occurring on June 20, which means that the sun typically appears higher in the sky and moon seems closer to the horizon because the celestial bodies are positioned on opposite sides of Earth.
But this will also be the lowest full moon visible from the Northern Hemisphere in decades due to a phenomenon called a major lunar standstill, according to EarthSky. The standstill, when the moon is at its northernmost or southernmost point, occurs because the moon's orbit is slowly dragged around in an 18.6-year cycle by the gravitational pull of the sun. The phenomenon is referred to as a standstill because the moon appears to stop changing direction during this time, even though it's still moving in orbit, according to the Griffith Observatory.
Although the standstill occurred in January, it's still affecting our perspective of the full moon, according to EarthSky. The last major lunar standstill occurred in 2006.
Meanwhile, for those viewing the flip side of this phenomenon in the Southern Hemisphere, the full moon will reach its highest point.
While the silvery orb won't look anything like a berry, June's full moon got its moniker from indigenous tribes that were inspired by the sweet berries such as strawberries that ripen and reach their peak this time of year. Both the Anishinaabe and the Sioux people refer to this month's full moon as the strawberry moon. Meanwhile, the Creeks know it as the blackberry moon, and the Shawnee tribe calls it the raspberry moon.
Spot the Milky Way
The full moon won't be the only celestial sight to seek out in June's night sky.
The strawberry moon will also appear near the center of the Milky Way, according to NASA.
The galaxy's bright center will be on annual display from June through August, known as "Core Season" because the core of the Milky Way is visible, the agency shared.
Keep an eye out for a faint, hazy band resembling a cloud that seems to arc toward the south.
The band is best seen away from city lights under dark skies and will appear even more vivid through long-exposure photography.
Meanwhile, multiple planets will be visible in the sky this month.
Mars, Jupiter and Mercury will all appear low in the west after sunset. Look for bright Venus low in the eastern sky for about two hours before the sun rises all month long. The crescent moon and Venus will appear close together in the early morning eastern sky on June 22.
Upcoming full moons
There are six more full moons to look out for in 2025, with supermoons occurring in October, November and December.
Here's the list of full moons remaining in 2025, according to the Farmers' Almanac:
- July 10: Buck moon
- August 9: Sturgeon moon
- September 7: Corn moon
- October 6: Harvest moon
- November 5: Beaver moon
- December 4: Cold moon
Lunar and solar eclipses in 2025
In the lead-up to fall, two eclipse events will grace the sky.
A total lunar eclipse will be most visible from Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, parts of eastern South America, Alaska and Antarctica on September 7 and 8, according to Time and Date.
A lunar eclipse, which causes the moon to look dark or dimmed, occurs when Earth is between the sun and moon and the three celestial objects line up in a row so that the moon passes into our planet's shadow.
When the moon is within the darkest part of Earth's shadow, called the umbra, it takes on a reddish hue, which has led to the nickname "blood moon" for a lunar eclipse, according to NASA. That shadow isn't perfect, so sunbeams sneak around the shadow's edges, bathing the moon in warm hues.
A partial solar eclipse will occur on September 21 as the moon moves between the sun and Earth but the celestial bodies aren't perfectly aligned, according to NASA. In this type of event, the moon only blocks part of the sun's face, creating a crescent shape in which it appears to take a "bite" out of the sun. This event will be visible to more remote areas of Australia, Antarctica and the Pacific Ocean.
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