Why it’s called a ‘strawberry moon’
Although Atlantic Canada is still a few weeks away from strawberry season, the full moon on June 24 is sometimes referred to as the "strawberry moon."
This name is said to have originated with the native indigenous peoples of eastern North America, who named it for the wild strawberries that began to appear around this time.
Full moons are often given names by various cultures according to what event (usually one related to nature) is occurring around them during the time of the full moon. June's full moon is also sometimes known as the "egg-laying moon," the "rose moon," the "blooming moon" and the "green corn moon."
Depending on which definition you choose to recognize regarding what constitutes a "supermoon" — the broad (astrological) definition is that a supermoon is a new or full moon that occurs near lunar perigee (the moon's closest approach to Earth) or the strict (astronomical) definition that a supermoon is the new or full moon closest to the Earth for a given year (such as the May 26 full moon), then the June 24 full moon could be considered a supermoon by some. In which case, it is the last supermoon of the year. Occurring as it does after the Summer Solstice on June 21, it is also our first full moon of summer.
The full moon rises on June 24 in the southeast around 9:45 p.m. ADT. Although the actual full moon phase occurs several hours prior (3:40 p.m. ADT) to moonrise, there will not be any perceptible difference in the size or brightness of the moon between the full phase and the moon's rising; it will, however, be brighter and slightly larger than a normal full moon.
As the moon's light passes through a greater portion of the Earth's atmosphere when the moon rises or sets, the
moon can, upon occasion, appear an orangish-yellow or even a dusty pink colour. Such occasions are most often the result of increased amounts of volcanic ash or dust particles from dust storms (such as the one from the Sahara Desert in Africa currently impacting eastern North America) in the atmosphere, which tends to bend the light more towards the red end of the colour spectrum.
However, despite its delectable name, the June 24 full moon will not appear a delicious strawberry-red.
THIS WEEK’S SKIES
Mercury is once again too close to the sun to be observable. Venus (magnitude -3.9, look for it in Gemini — the Twins), our "evening star," becomes visible eight degrees above the northwest horizon as dusk gives way to darkness, before setting by about 10:35 p.m. ADT.
Mars (magnitude +1.8, visible in Cancer — the Crab) is a bit more difficult to pick out of the western evening sky, appearing approximately 10 degrees above the western horizon by about 9:30 p.m. before setting in the westnorthwest around 10:55 p.m. ADT.
Bright Jupiter (magnitude -2.6, seen in Aquarius — the
Waterbearer) rises in the southeast around 12:25 a.m. ADT, reaching approximately 31 degrees above the southern horizon before fading from view with the approaching dawn shortly before 5 a.m. ADT.
Saturn (magnitude +0.5, look for it in Capricornus — the Sea Goat) becomes visible 10 degrees above the southeast horizon by about 12:45 a.m. ADT, reaching a height of 26 degrees above the horizon before it's lost to the dawn twilight by about 4:35 a.m. ADT.
Look for the waning, gibbous moon below Saturn in the pre-dawn sky on June 27.
Until next week, clear skies.
EVENTS:
• June 21 - Summer Solstice; 12:32 a.m.
• June 24 - Full Strawberry Moon; 3:40 p.m.
• June 27 - waning gibbous Moon below Saturn; pre-dawn
Clarification: Accompanying last week's Atlantic Skies column, an illustration was used to explain the summer solstice. The illustration showed the earth tilted the wrong way.