The “Full Strawberry Moon” will be on June 17, and will appear for about three days. Why is it called the “Full Strawberry Moon?"
Full Strawberry Moon
People can expect to see the Full Strawberry Moon from Saturday night through to Tuesday morning, and it will appear “opposite” the sun on Monday, June 17. It will also be the lowest full moon of the year, especially in Washington, D.C. on Monday where the moon will only be 29.1 degrees above the horizon.
However, not everyone hoping to see the Strawberry moon should expect to see a pink or reddish moon because of the name. According to the Maine Farmer’s Almanac, the full moon in June or the last full moon in spring is so named the Strawberry moon because of the short strawberry harvesting season in northeastern North America. It is a name that is known in about every Algonquin tribe.
Some Europeans, however, call this full moon the “Rose Moon” because of the color of the moon this time of year in Europe’s higher latitudes. As such, the moon may also appear to be rose or reddish in color in Europe.
‘The Sweetest Moon Of The Year’
This month’s full moon is sweet, indeed, as it can also be called the “Mead Moon,” “Honey Moon,” or the “LRO Moon.”
Mead Moon and Honey Moon are the old European names for June’s full moon, and some believe that it may be related to why the first month of marriage is called the honeymoon since at least the 1500s. This may be because of the practice of getting married in the month of June, or because June’s Honey Moon is considered as the “sweetest moon of the year” possibly due to the honey being ripe and ready for harvest at the end of the month.
Another sweet name for June’s full moon, and a more recent one, is LRO Moon in honor of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter which launched to the moon 10 years ago on June 18, 2009. While it is not quite as sweet as honey, it is still a sweet reminder of the spacecraft and the devotion to studying the moon.
