The Sky This Week: Catch the June Strawberry Super Moon (2024)

Enjoy a morning lineup of planets and watch the Moon blot out a star in Scorpius from June 10 to 17.

ByAlison Klesman | Published: June 10, 2022| Last updated on May 18, 2023

Honey Moon

The Full June Moon often looks honey-colored, as in this photo taken June 22, 2013.

Stephen Rahn

Friday, June 10
An old, familiar friend is now rising in the sky after sunset: Cygnus the Swan. This large, cross-shaped summertime constellation are easy to pick out. The Swan’s tail is marked by the bright star Deneb (magnitude 1.3), while his beak is the stunning double star Albireo (magnitude 3.1). Through a telescope, you can enjoy this pair’s contrasting colors of orange and blue. And if you live in a particularly dark location, step out on a moonless night and you’ll see the bright swath of the Milky Way running through the Swan’s body.

Cygnus has several deep-sky gems to enjoy, but tonight’s bright Moon will hinder your ability to enjoy most of them. That’s okay — we’ll be sure to revisit this area soon when there is no Moon in the sky and conditions for viewing faint objects are much better.

In the meantime, Deneb is also one point of three that make up the Summer Triangle asterism. Now entirely visible after dark, the other two points are Altair in Aquila and Vega in Lyra.

Sunrise: 5:31 A.M.
Sunset: 8:28 P.M.
Moonrise: 4:12 P.M.
Moonset: 2:50 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (81%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.

Saturday, June 11
Venus lies just south of Uranus in the early-morning sky today. Both lie in southeastern Aries the Ram, about 14° below magnitude 2 Hamal. Look east an hour before sunrise and you won’t be able to miss the bright beacon of Venus’ magnitude –3.9 glow, about 8° above the horizon. In binoculars or a small scope, Venus’ disk appears 13″ across and 81 percent lit. Roughly 1.6° north of Venus is the small, dim disk of Uranus. The ice giant spans just 3″ and shines a soft magnitude 5.8. Venus will pass due south of Uranus at 9 A.M. EDT.

As the twilight grows, those with a clear view of the horizon may catch Mercury, currently magnitude 0.9, rising around 4:30 A.M. local time. Take care not to scan the sky too close to sunrise with binoculars or a telescope — set an alarm for several minutes before the Sun peeks over the horizon from your location (not necessarily the time listed in this column; it may differ!) and stop using any astronomical equipment then.

Sunrise: 5:31 A.M.
Sunset: 8:29 P.M.
Moonrise: 5:27 P.M.
Moonset: 3:18 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (89%)

Disappearing star

This Midwestern view shows the Moon passing by Delta Scorpii, or Dschubba, June 12. Canada and the northeastern U.S. will see the star disappear.

Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Sunday, June 12
The Moon occults, or passes in front of, 2nd-magnitude Dschubba (Delta [δ] Scorpii) tonight, visible to observers in eastern Canada and the northeastern U.S. Our satellite rises before sunset; as the sky grows dark, you’ll find it in the southeast, among the stars of Scorpius and just 7° northwest of the bright red giant Antares.

Train binoculars on our satellite and watch as it covers or just slides past Dschubba. What you see depends on your location — those outside the region where the occultation is visible will see the Moon skim above the star instead. The timing of the occultation is also location dependent: In Massachusetts, the star disappears around 10:20 P.M. EDT and reappears just under an hour later. In other locations, this may happen earlier or later. You can check whether the event is visible from your location and what time the star will disappear and reappear on the International Occultation Timing Association’s website.

Sunrise: 5:31 A.M.
Sunset: 8:29 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:45 P.M.
Moonset: 3:50 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (95%)

Monday, June 13
A bright Moon will hinder most deep-sky observing this evening, but double stars are still on the menu. After dark, look for the familiar W asterism of Cassiopeia, which sits right-side-up in the north early this evening.

Although not part of the W, Achird (Eta [η] Cassiopeiae) lies just below a line connecting Navi (Gamma [γ] Cas) and Shedar (Alpha [α] Cas), which form the left slant of the right half of the W. Achird sits about two-thirds of the way from Gamma to Alpha, and is a beautiful binary star system comprising a 3rd-magnitude, Sun-like yellow-white primary and a magnitude 7.5 orange-red secondary. The two are separated by 11″ — easily resolvable through a small scope. The stars orbit each other every 480 years with an average separation of nearly twice Pluto’s distance from the Sun.

Sunrise: 5:31 A.M.
Sunset: 8:30 P.M.
Moonrise: 8:04 P.M.
Moonset: 4:29 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (99%)

Tuesday, June 14
Full Moon occurs today at 7:52 A.M. EDT. Almost exactly 12 hours later, at 7:12 P.M. EDT, the Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit. At that time, our satellite will sit 222,098 miles (357,432 kilometers) away. This means tonight’s Full Moon is also a Super Moon, a term applied when the Full phase occurs around the same time as Luna sits closest to Earth, making it appear larger and brighter than average.

Take some time to enjoy the June Full Moon — also called the Strawberry Moon — tonight. You may notice that its color is not pinkish, but instead more golden yellow than usual. It is for this reason that Astronomy columnist Bob Berman suggests we christen the June Full Moon the Honey Moon — what do you think?

This golden hue arises from the fact that the Moon stays close to the horizon, so its reflected light must travel a longer path through our atmosphere, which preferentially scatters away bluer light. And there’s something else going on with the Moon: Ever since First Quarter, it has been rising farther and farther south of due east each day. Tonight, the Moon rises at the farthest point southeast in this pattern; after today, it will begin moving northward, back toward due east. See if you can pick up this change over the next few nights.

Sunrise: 5:31 A.M.
Sunset: 8:30 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:20 P.M.
Moonset: 5:19 A.M.
Moon Phase: Full

The Northern Crown

Corona Borealis lies near Hercules and Boötes in the sky. This is the best time of year to view it — you’ll find it high in the east after sunset, although currently the crown appears upside-down compared to this image.

Till Credner/Wikimedia Commons

Wednesday, June 15
There’s a two-hour window between sunset and moonrise tonight, which translates into about 30 to 60 minutes of good, dark-sky observing time. Use that time tonight to look for Corona Borealis the Northern Crown.

This small but bright constellation is bordered by Hercules, Boötes, and Serpens. According to Astronomy contributing editor Michael Bakich, Corona Borealis ranks 73rd in size out of the 88 constellations but is the 11th brightest. You’ll find it high overhead in the east about an hour and a half after sunset. The Crown’s brightest star, Alphecca (Alpha Coronae Borealis), shines at magnitude 2.2. Its beta star, magnitude 3.7 Nusukan, is the only other named star.

The “crown” itself is drawn from a u-shaped pattern of seven stars: In addition to Alpha and Beta, these comprise Iota (ι), Epsilon (ϵ), Delta, Gamma, and Theta (θ) Coronae Borealis. Tonight, the U is appears upside down above Hercules, and it’s about halfway along a line drawn between Zeta (ζ) Herculis and Izar in Boötes.

Sunrise: 5:31 A.M.
Sunset: 8:30 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:24 P.M.
Moonset: 6:20 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (98%)

June 16, 40 minutes before sunrise, looking east

The naked-eye planets span the eastern sky before sunrise, including Mercury and Venus, which lie near the Pleiades. Also visible (with binoculars) are Uranus and Neptune; the Moon lies farther west, but will join the early-morning parade in a few days.

Alison Klesman (via TheSkyX)

Thursday, June 16
Mercury reaches greatest western elongation at 11 A.M. EDT, sitting 23° from the Sun. You can catch it within about an hour of sunrise, though you may want to wait until about 40 minutes before the Sun clears the horizon for the best views. By then, magnitude 0.5 Mercury has climbed nearly 5° above the eastern horizon.

The solar system’s smallest planet now forms a nice equilateral triangle with Venus — magnitude –3.9, 10° west of Mercury — and the Pleiades — 8.3° northwest of the planet. It’s a dramatic photo opportunity for wide-field imagers. Zoom in with a telescope to see that Mercury’s 8″-wide disk is just 36 percent lit.

Farther west, Mars (also magnitude 0.5) and Jupiter (magnitude –2.3) lie in Pisces. Saturn, nearly 41° west of Jupiter, sits in Capricornus, while the Moon lies even farther along the ecliptic in Sagittarius. In just over a week, the Moon and naked-eye planets will line up perfectly in order of distance from the Sun — an early-morning sight you absolutely won’t want to miss. Plus, binocular-magnitude Uranus and Neptune are nestled along the lineup as well, putting all seven planets in our morning sky: a relatively rare sight.

Sunrise: 5:31 A.M.
Sunset: 8:31 P.M.
Moonrise: 11:18 P.M.
Moonset: 7:33 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (93%)

South and east of Spica

Tenth-magnitude Hygiea makes a tight turnaround this month in Virgo. Also nearby, though not shown, are 11th-magnitude Thisbe and Egeria.

Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Friday, June 17
Asteroid 10 Hygiea is making a tight turnaround in Virgo this month. Tonight, it’s come to a virtual standstill and over the next few days, this world will pivot from traveling northwest to moving east.

The Maiden is still some 40° above the southern horizon an hour after sunset and with no Moon yet in the sky, the time is ripe to net this main-belt body. First, find the constellation’s alpha star, magnitude 1 Spica — you can’t miss it! From there, it’s a short jaunt just over 8° southeast to 10th-magnitude Hygiea. A 4-inch scope or larger should capture the asteroid for viewing, and only a handful of field stars nearby are brighter.

Although classified as an asteroid, Hygiea is quite large — 270 miles (435 km) across — and its shape is nearly round. Despite its size, it remains fairly dim because its surface is dark and doesn’t reflect sunlight well. The brightest it gets is roughly magnitude 9 at perihelion, allowing observers to potentially spot it with binoculars.

Sunrise: 5:31 A.M.
Sunset: 8:31 P.M.
Moonrise: 11:59 P.M.
Moonset: 8:49 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (85%)

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The Sky This Week: Catch the June Strawberry Super Moon (2024)

FAQs

What is the best time to see the Strawberry Moon tonight? ›

Best Time to View the Strawberry Full Moon 2024

For the best viewing experience, the Strawberry Moon will be most visible around 9:15 p.m. EDT once it has fully ascended. Observers can enjoy the sight until the morning of Sunday, June 23.

Where in the sky is the Strawberry Moon? ›

It's the Strawberry Moon

Many species of berries ripen in early summer, including some strawberries. When and where to look: Look for the bright, round moon in the east in the evening, highest in the sky around midnight, and in the west before sunrise on June 22.

Why is the Strawberry Moon so special? ›

The name has Native American roots. Tribes in the northeastern US, including the Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota tribes refer to it as the strawberry moon because it appears around the same time that strawberries ripen and are ready to be gathered.

What does the strawberry full moon mean in June? ›

With the productivity-focused strawberry moon on the horizon, the rest of June's full moon promises a time of hard work and determination. As the first full moon of the summer, and the first of two Capricorn full moons this year, the strawberry moon 2024 is here to help you level up.

What time is the Strawberry Moon coming? ›

The Strawberry Moon is the sixth full Moon of 2024 and comes the day after the summer solstice, appearing at its fullest at 9:08 p.m. EDT on Friday.

What does a Strawberry Moon mean spiritually? ›

What does a Strawberry Moon mean? Symbolically, the strawberry moon represents the abundance of summer's bounty, the ripening of fruits and the flourishing of nature, according to the Old Farmers Almanac.

How to see the Strawberry Moon? ›

To fully appreciate the Strawberry Moon, you'll want to find a location with minimal light pollution. Head away from the city lights and find a spot with a clear, unobstructed view of the eastern horizon, where the moon will rise.

How long is the Strawberry Moon? ›

The strawberry moon will be at its fullest at 9:08 p.m. EDT on Friday. According to NASA, the moon will appear full for around three days around this period, starting on Thursday night and ending on Sunday morning.

Can everyone see the Strawberry Moon? ›

Because the moon appears full for three days a month surrounding its peak, the strawberry moon will be visible to almost everyone worldwide.

How does strawberry moon affect us? ›

“The Strawberry Moon is all about inviting people to reflect on how far they've come in their life and look forward to where they plan to go,” she shares. “This is a time to focus on all of your long-term plans and serious commitments.”

What is the spiritual meaning of the strawberry moon in 2024? ›

It signals the start of the strawberry harvest season and is a time for reflection and renewal. Star gazers can capture this celestial event tonight. Ways to celebrate include Moonlight Meditation, Gratitude Ceremony, Full Moon Bath, Nature Walk, Release and Let Go, Create Moon Water, and Love Ritual.

How rare is a strawberry moon? ›

The day after the summer solstice and the longest day of the year look up to the sky for the June full moon, which is also the "strawberry moon." Why it matters: It's rare for a full Moon to happen within a day of a solstice and this usually occurs about every 19 to 20 years, according to Space.com.

What color to wear on a full moon? ›

Wear white for a clean slate and during New Moons for a fresh start. White is also a traditional Full Moon color and can be combined with silver or gold then for good fortune.

What does the full moon mean spiritually? ›

Spiritually, the full moon symbolizes deep emotion, completion, and spiritual growth. Emotions can be extreme during the full moon, and full moon energy can manifest in different ways—you may feel creative, anxious, sensitive, or exhausted.

Is the moon causing anxiety right now? ›

It's long been believed that the moon can affect your mood. It's certainly true that environmental factors can play a part in a person's mood swings and act as a trigger for anxiety and depression, but it's unclear exactly how (if at all) the lunar cycle affects our mood and mental health.

What time can I see the moon? ›

The new Moon always rises near sunrise. The first quarter Moon always rises near noon. The full Moon always rises near sunset. The last quarter Moon always rises near midnight.

What are the rituals for the Strawberry Moon? ›

It signals the start of the strawberry harvest season and is a time for reflection and renewal. Star gazers can capture this celestial event tonight. Ways to celebrate include Moonlight Meditation, Gratitude Ceremony, Full Moon Bath, Nature Walk, Release and Let Go, Create Moon Water, and Love Ritual.

What will the Strawberry Moon look like? ›

Despite its name, June's full moon will not look like a strawberry. But the bright orb could still turn heads Friday night with an appearance that is bigger and more colorful than the average moon.

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