June's strawberry moon will light up the sky this week

 

According to NASA, the moon will be full from Sunday moonrise to Wednesday moonset. It will peak at 7:52 a.m. ET on Tuesday, but will not be completely visible until moonrise in North America. The strawberry moon this year is the first of two supermoons in a row.

Although there is no universal definition, a supermoon is a full moon that seems brighter and bigger than ordinary moons due to its close proximity to Earth.

To the untrained eye, the supermoon may appear to be the same size as regular moons. According to Noah Petro, chief of NASA's Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Lab, the obvious shift in brightness improves visibility and provides a fantastic chance for people to start paying attention to the moon and its phases.

According to Jacqueline Faherty, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History, the best time to stare at the moon is when it is rising or setting since that is when it seems the largest to the naked eye. (You may use the calculation in the Old Farmer's Almanac to figure out what time the moon rises and sets in your area.)

The southern half of the country and the Southwest will get the greatest views of the full moon in June. Early this week, a series of small storms will pass across the Northeast and Great Lakes areas, causing hazy conditions that will make getting a clear view difficult, according to CNN meteorologist Gene Norman.

Moongazers should look for a clean horizon and avoid regions with large buildings and dense woodland, according to Petro. For best visibility, he also advises individuals to avoid bright lighting if at all feasible.

The term strawberry moon comes from the beliefs of Indigenous peoples in the Northeastern United States, such as the Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota, and Lakota, who interpreted the celestial event as a sign that strawberries and other crops were ripe and ready to harvest. According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, the Haida people refer to the moon as the berries ripen moon.

This moon is known as the honey moon or mead moon in Europe, and ancient documents from the region indicate that honey was available to harvest at the end of the month. Honey moon might also be a reference to June's status as a popular month for weddings.

This full moon falls on Vat Purnima, a Hindu festival in which married women fast and tie a ceremonial thread around a banyan tree in order to pray for a long life for their husband.

This moon is known as the Poson Poya moon by Buddhists, and it is named after the feast commemorating the arrival of Buddhism to Sri Lanka in 236 BC.