What is the Full Strawberry Moon, which occurs tonight - News Room USA

The Full Strawberry Moon, which will be visible in the sky this week, will mark the first full moon of the summer.

This Monday (29), at 8:58 pm Brasília, skywatchers will witness the celestial body light up the night sky with its amber glow.

For those in the Northern Hemisphere, as the strawberry moon rises and sets, it will trace the lowest path of any full moon this year — and for those in the Southern Hemisphere, it will travel its highest arc, according to EarthSky.

will appear one day after apogee, the point at which the moon is farthest from Earth. When a full moon occurs near its peak, it is often called a micromoon — and June’s moon will be the second smallest in 2026.

Although the moon appears slightly smaller, the difference will be barely noticeable to the naked eye, according to Dr. Pamela Gay, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute.

To get the best view of the strawberry moon low on the horizon, go outside and “find a dark place, free from obstructions — like tall buildings, trees, that sort of thing,” recommends Noah Petro, head of NASA’s Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Laboratory at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

A moon of varying hue

The lunar phenomenon’s name is derived from the Native American Algonquin tribes, who named the event for the coincidence of the full moon and berry-picking season. The Western Abenaki know it as the hoe moon and the Anishinaabe as the according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Observers of the June full moon may notice that it appears to change color. The hue of the celestial body, however, does not actually change.

“Our moon itself has a color, and that color is determined by mineralogy, by the way sunlight reflects off it,” Gay said.

But the problem, she added, is that the light reflected from the moon has to pass through Earth’s atmosphere to reach our eyes — and the color of that light can change slightly depending on what’s in the atmosphere.

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In areas that experience high air pollution, strawberry moonshine may appear warmer in tone, with a more intense color.

This year’s Strawberry Moon arrives with even greater excitement about lunar exploration, just months after the Artemis II mission successfully sent a quartet of astronauts around the far side of the moon. With anticipation building around the next Artemis mission, which could launch as early as the end of next year, and with the prospect of a moon landing soon after, some experts recommend taking advantage of skywatching opportunities as a way to explore Earth’s deepening connection to our satellite and beyond.

“We’re on the verge of sending humans back to the moon with Artemis. In a few years, we’ll have astronauts landing on the moon,” Petro said. “Now is the time to start building that relationship with the moon. And the easiest way to do that is to just go out and look up.”

Upcoming Full Moons

There are six more full moons to observe in 2026, including supermoons in November and December, when the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit and appears larger.

Check out the list of remaining full moons, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.