Google marks rare pairing of solstice, ‘strawberry moon’ with doodle

This Monday, June 20th brings the summer solstice, which marks the beginning of the season and a chance to soak in copious amounts of sunshine. While it may evoke visions of a pink or blood red moon, that’s not quite the case. For Honolulu, the summer solstice officially happened at 12:34 p.m. with our sunrise at 5:50 a.m. and sunset at 7:16 p.m. for 13:25:54 hours of daylight.

Either way it’s going to be an wonderful sight to the naked eye that all 4.6 million people in the country should watch as Ireland is fairly unique in having the moon this low.

What makes this year’s entry into the summer days even more exceptional is the coincidence with the Strawberry Moon. During the Summer Solstice, the Sun sits above the Tropic of Cancer, spreading more sunlight in the north and turning the tables on the south. The Algonquins named it “strawberry moon” because they knew it would finally be time to gather ripened fruit when this moon rose. Europeans called this the Rose Moon.

Winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon marking the shortest day and the longest night of the year.

Every year it is not necessary for summer solstice to occur on June 21. This often forces the light reflecting off the moon to take on an amber hue, leading some to dub it the “honey moon.” The moisture in the air, and the dust from today’s wind and dryness may create a real pretty full moon.

There are a few hours left of daylight in Atascadero, and the summer solstice evening will be greeted with a “strawberry” moon for the first time since 1967.