Rare Occurrence as Strawberry Moon Aligns with Summer Solstice

That was the last time the full “Strawberry” moon “landed smack on” the June solstice. For North American time zones this event happens at 6:34 p.m. EDT, 5:34 p.m. CDT, 4:34 p.m. MDT, and 3:34 p.m. PDT, Sky & Telescope reports. How about a strawberry moon to kick off the summer season this year.

The name comes from the Latin solstitium meaning “sun stands still”, when the sun stops heading north at the Tropic of Cancer and returns back southwards. This will be first time that a moon will appear to be full on a Summer Solstice day since 1948.

A live stream of Monday’s strawberry moon was available on Slooh and the phenomenon was immortalized on YouTube. According to NASA, the name “strawberry moon” derives from the fact that strawberry picking season peaks during this month.

Why is it called Strawberry Moon?

The reason that Summer Solstice makes a day longer is not because it adds few more hours to the already 24 hours cycle, rather it is longer because this day receives the longest hours daylight in the Northern Hemisphere. “It was often known as the Full Rose Moon in Europe and the Honey Moon”, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.

The site stated that “the phases of the moon recur every 19 years”.

There are almost 12 hours between the actual solstice and full moon, a time difference that most recently occurred in 1986, Atlas Obscura pointed out, although the two events took place on different dates. The moisture in the air, and the dust from today’s wind and dryness may create a real pretty full moon.