Strawberry Moon: Full Moon in June Signals Strawberry Harvest

Summary: The Iroquois and the Sioux of North America know a full moon in June as a strawberry moon, so-called for signaling the wild strawberry harvest.

Strawberry moon as supermoon (when moon is at perigee, closest point in orbit, about 221,824 miles away) in 2013: June's strawberry moon rising behind Washington Monument, Washington DC, Sunday, June 23, 2013: Bill Ingalls/NASA, Public Domain, via NASA

June’s full moon is known as the full rose moon in Europe and as the strawberry moon in North America.

Strawberry moon is an Algonquian descriptor, not for the moon’s color, but as a signal of time to harvest ripening strawberries (Fragaria spp.). As one of the most widespread Native American tribes in North America, the Algonquian claim homelands across Canada and the United States, from the western interior’s Rocky Mountains to the east coast, with prominent populations around the Great Lakes and along the Mid-Atlantic and North Atlantic coasts.

The full moon is recognized as the fifth phase in the eight-phase monthly lunar cycle traced by the moon’s rotation around the Earth. The fully illuminated lunar surface that characterizes the full moon signals another of the phase’s main characteristics, the occurrence of the straight-line configuration of sun and moon on opposite sides of Earth known in astronomy as syzygy (Ancient Greek: σύζυγος, suzugos, “yoked together”).

In 2015, the moon becomes fully illuminated for Earthlings at around midday Tuesday, June 2, over eastern North America and western South America. Full illumination happens at midnight Wednesday, June 3, over eastern Asia and western Australia.

Although not visible in North America at the exact instant of turning full at 16:19 Coordinated Universal Time (12:19 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time), the strawberry moon is visible in the nighttime sky, in the company of reddish Antares, brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion, and golden gas giant Saturn, as the trio climbs from the eastern horizon at dusk on June 2 to the western horizon at dawn on June 3. Although the actual fullness of illumination only occurs on June 2, the moon appears fully lit at 99 percent illumination in the waxing gibbous phase Monday, June 1, and the waning gibbous phase of Wednesday, June 3.

Because of cloud cover over northern states and both coasts, the best viewing sites for 2015’s strawberry moon are located around the Great Lakes and in the Southwest. Although thick, off-white cloud cover may generally hamper visibility, the full moon should manage occasional peeks through stray wisps at nightfall Tuesday, June 2, and Wednesday, June 3.

sky cover forecast for Tuesday, June 02 2015 at 8PM EDT: graphic by National Digital Forecast Database, Public Domain, via NOAA National Weather Service

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Sky cover forecast for Tuesday, June 02 2015 at 8PM EDT: National Digital Forecast Database, Public Domain, via NOAA National Weather Service @ http://graphical.weather.gov/sectors/conus.php?element=Sky

Supermoon rising behind Washington Monument, Washington DC, Sunday, June 23, 2013: Bill Ingalls/NASA, Public Domain, via NASA @ http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2537.html

For further information:

"American Indian Moons." Western Washington University Skywise Unlimited.
Available @ http://www.wwu.edu/skywise/indianmoons.html

Hazen, Shelley. “’Strawberry’ And Moon’s Other Aliases Speak To Time We Paid Much More Attention To Nature.” Inquisitr > BuzzWorthy. June 3, 2015.
Available @ http://www.inquisitr.com/2141966/strawberry-and-moons-other-aliases-speak-to-time-we-paid-much-more-attention-to-nature/

Lindelof, Bill. “Strawberry moon in season tonight in Sacramento.” The Sacramento Bee >  News > Local. June 2, 2015.
Available @ http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article22855974.html

McClure, Bruce. “Full Strawberry Moon on June 2.” EarthSky > Tonight > June 2, 2015.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/this-years-full-strawberry-moon-comes-on-june-2-2015

“Moon Phases and Lunar Calendar for Roanoke, Virginia.” Old Farmer’s Almanac >  Moon > Moon Phase Calendar. June 2015.
Available @ http://www.almanac.com/moon/calendar/VA/Roanoke/2015-06

Morgan, Leigh. “Strawberry moon 2015: It was at near peak fullness June 2.” AL.com Alabama > News. June 2, 2015; updated June 3, 2015.
Available @ http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/06/strawberry_moon_2015_see_it_at.html

“Strawberry Moon: June Full Moon Phases 2015.” Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Available @ http://www.almanac.com/content/strawberry-moon-june-full-moon-phases-2015

“Supermoon Shines Over Washington Monument / Space Wallpaper.” Space.com > Wallpapers.
Available @ http://www.space.com/21696-supermoon-over-washington-monument-space-wallpaper.html