If you look up tonight, you may notice that the moon looks particularly big and bright in the night sky.
That’s because tonight’s moon isn’t any old moon – it’s a Full Strawberry Moon!
The lunar event occurs when the Moon is located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun.
This means that the face of our lunar satellite is fully illuminated, making the moon look particularly brigh in the night sky.
While this full moon is often referred to as a Full Strawberry Moon, our lunar satellite won’t appear pink or red, as you might expect.
Instead, the name was chosen by early Native American tribes because it signalled the time of year to gather ripening fruit.
NASA explained: “The Maine Farmer’s Almanac first published Indian names for the full Moons in the 1930’s. According to this almanac, the full Moon in June or the last full Moon of Spring is known as the Strawberry Moon, a name universal to just about every Algonquin tribe.
“The name comes from the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries in northeastern North America.”
You may also hear this full moon being referred to as the Mead Moon or Honey Moon.
NASA added: “Mead is a drink created by fermenting honey mixed with water, sometimes with fruits, spices, grains, or hops.
“The tradition of calling the first month of marriage the ‘honeymoon’ dates back to at least the 1500’s and may be tied to this full Moon, either because of the custom of marrying in June or because the “Honey Moon” is the “sweetest” Moon of the year.
“Some writings suggest that the time around the Summer solstice at the end of June was when honey was ripe and ready to be harvested from hives or from the wild, which made this the ‘sweetest’ Moon.”
The Full Strawberry Moon will appear tonight, and will officially peak at 20:12 BST.
However, it should be visible all evening. Sunset is set to take place at 21:11 BST this evening.
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