Strawberry Moon: Timelapse captures stunning moonrise
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A Full Moon will rise tonight (June 24) in the southeast skies, creeping up over the horizon sometime around 9.30pm BST at the earliest. The exact time of the Moon’s arrival will depend on your exact location, so check out our handy guide and timings here. June’s Full Moon is traditionally known as the Strawberry Moon – a name borrowed from Native American traditions – or the Mead Moon – a name linked to medieval mead production.
But tonight’s lunar spectacle is all the more special because this Full Moon also happens to be the fourth and final of this year’s Supermoons.
Supermoons appear when a Full Moon peak near or at the lunar perigee – the Moon’s closest orbital distance from Earth.
They should, therefore, appear slightly bigger and brighter than usual.
Astronomers at the Royal Observatory Greenwich explained: “If the Moon is within 10 percent of its closest distance at the moment of Full Moon, it is considered to be a Supermoon.
“During a Supermoon, the Moon appears up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the furthest a Full Moon can be.”
Will clouds block the Supermoon tonight?
Unfortunately, the latest weather forecast from the Met Office is not looking too favourable.
Forecasters expect a mix of cloudy and wet conditions across the country that could potentially spoil the view.
You might, however, find some respite in Yorkshire in where conditions should be
The Met Office tweeted: “The Full Moon tonight is known as the Strawberry moon, not because it is pink, but because it the time for strawberries to ripen!
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“We may not see much because of the cloud but the best place to be will be Yorkshire where the Moon rises at 9.54pm in the southwest and sets at 4.42am.”
The Met Office expects showers moving across central England, with heavier rain moving southeastwards.
More persistent rains over Scotland and Northern Ireland are also expected to move southeastwards, possibly affecting parts of Wales and England.
Further up north and conditions are set to be much windier but also cooler.
The rainy outlook continues into Friday’s forecast, with rain persisting over parts of Scotland and England.
However, the rain is expected to clear over the south.
The Met Office said: “Brighter elsewhere but some heavy showers developing.”
If the poor weather gets in the way of you seeing the Supermoon tonight, you will have to wait until June 2022 for the next one.
But the good news is you will have a number of meteor showers and other astronomical phenomena to look forward to in the meantime.
The Delta Aquariids on July 30, for instance, are a spectacle worth staying up for.
When is the next Full Moon?
After tonight, Strawberry Moon, the Buck Moon will make its appearance at the end of July.
Here are all of the Full Moons and their quirky names this year:
- Wolf Moon – January 28
- Snow Moon – February 27
- Worm Moon – March 28
- Pink Moon – April 27
- Flower Moon – May 26
- Strawberry Moon – June 24
- Buck Moon – July 31
- Sturgeon Moon – August 30
- Harvest Moon – September 29
- Hunter’s Moon – October 28
- Beaver Moon – November 27
- Cold Moon – December 27
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