Prime Highlights
- Strawberry Moon in June falls on once-in-a-rare-major-lunar-standstill, when it will rise lower than usual in the night sky.
- The night saw the lowest full moon after 2006 and will not be repeated until 2043.
Key Facts
- June 10 full moon was seen on the night of June 11 and reached its peak early morning on June 11.
- Contrary to its name, the Strawberry Moon is neither red nor pink—its names are named after the strawberry picking.
- The unusual alignment causes the moon to rise and set at very steep angles, creating a very dramatic appearance.
Key Background
Strawberry Moon, or June 2025 full moon, was a dramatic display in the sky, happening during a rare astro event known as a major lunar standstill. This happens only once every 18.6 years when the tilt in the Moon’s path around the Earth is most aligned with the equator. This implies that the path of the Moon across the sky seems abnormally stretched, and it rises and sets at more northerly and southerly latitudes than normal. This produces dramatic moonrises and moonsets and has the Moon following a very low arc of light across the sky.
The Strawberry Moon this year seemed to be hanging just above the horizon for most of the night. From much of the Northern Hemisphere, the Moon rose in the southeast, traveled low across the south, and set in the southwest. Its shallow angle of view made us believe that the Moon seemed larger than normal—a illusion referred to as the “Moon illusion.” Moreover, because the light of the Moon passed through more atmosphere of the Earth, it became golden or reddish and therefore more dramatic to look at.
Strawberry Moon” is named after the time of year, not the color. The Native Americans, in particular the Algonquin, called June’s full moon the Strawberry Moon to signify the start of wild strawberry pickings. Alternates named by Europeans include the Rose Moon or Mead Moon.
This display was most readily seen on the evening of June 10, just after moonrise, even though the Moon officially reached fullest point during the wee hours of June 11. In India, it was best seen between 7:15 and 8:00 p.m. local time.
Since this unusual combination of a full moon with a big standstill of the moon will not be seen again until 2043, astronomers worldwide were invited to take a step back and observe the most unusual of cosmic events—a breathtaking display of celestial engineering and cultural heritage.
