Why it’s the Strawberry Moon

Each of the monthly full Moons has gained more than a few nicknames over the centuries, and these nicknames reflect annual events or occurrences in nature.

‘Strawberry Moon’ is the name given to the June full Moon because June is traditionally the month for picking strawberries.

Full Moon nicknames hark back to a time before built-up cities and artificial light pollution, when the monthly full Moon was more noticeable, acting as a reminder of the passage of time and the changing of the seasons.

But ‘Strawberry Moon’ is just that: a nickname. You shouldn’t expect the full Moon to look any more like a strawberry than usual!

However, you might notice it is a different colour, and that’s explored in our next Strawberry Moon fact.

Does the Strawberry Moon look orange? You’re not seeing things!

Does the Moon look more orange than usual? The reason this happens is because the Strawberry Moon stays quite low, close to the horizon.

This is again because the full Moon mirrors the Sun. During summer months, the Sun rises high in the sky and the full Moon stays low.

Conversely, in winter months, the Sun stays low in the sky and the full Moon rises much higher.

And when the full Moon is low in the sky, sunlight reflecting off its surface has to travel through a thicker section of Earth’s atmosphere.

When that happens, blue and violet light is scattered by our atmosphere and the light that does make it through the atmosphere is more towards the red end of the spectrum.

The full Moon may look enormous

Another effect of the low-lying full Moon is that you might notice it looks much bigger than usual.

This is a commonly-observed phenomenon that occurs when the full Moon is close to the horizon. It’s known as the Moon illusion.

There doesn’t seem to be any definitive reason as to why the Moon illusion occurs.

It could be because of how we perceive the night sky as a dome above our heads, which in turn affects how we perceive high full Moons vs low full Moons.

Or, it could be because a low-lying full Moon is closer to the ground, making it seem much bigger than large foreground objects like trees and buildings.

Either way, the effect of the Moon illusion can often cause observers to do a double-take, as it can really be a startling sight.

You might initially think you’re looking at the setting Sun, until you notice that it’s in the eastern portion of the sky at dusk and, therefore, must be the full Moon.

Because this is a low-lying Moon, you’ll need a clear horizon

If you want to watch the Strawberry Moon rise and track it across the sky – and note the effects of both the orange-hued full Moon and the Moon illusion – you’ll need a clear southern horizon.

That’s because, as mentioned, the Strawberry Moon won’t rise very high, and will be one of the lowest full Moons of the year.

Find yourself a flat, clear southeastern horizon to watch the Strawberry Moon rise.

If your view to the south is completely clear, you’ll then be treated to a view of the full Moon throughout the night, right up to the moment to the moment it sets in the southwest around sunrise the following morning.

This is a micromoon

You may hear people describe the 2026 Strawberry Moon as a ‘micromoon’.

That’s because the full Moon will technically appear smaller than normal. In fact, it will be one of the ‘smallest’ full Moons of the year.

This happens because the Moon’s orbit around Earth isn’t a perfect circle; it’s a sightly squashed, elliptical shape.

That means sometimes the Moon is closer to Earth than at other times.

When the Moon is at its closest point to Earth – known as perigee – and it’s full, it’s informally known as a ‘supermoon’.

When the Moon is at its farthest point from Earth – known as apogee – and it’s full, it’s known as a ‘micromoon’.

Tonight’s Strawberry Moon is a micromoon, meaning it should technically appear smaller than usual.

However, the effect is virtually impossible to notice with the naked eye and in reality, the full Moon won’t look any smaller than usual.

In fact, because of the aforementioned Moon illusion that occurs when the full Moon is low in the sky, this week’s micromoon may actually look enormous!

It should be the sixth full Moon of the year, but it’s actually the seventh

The Strawberry Moon is the name given to the full Moon in June, which normally makes the Strawberry Moon the sixth full Moon of the year.

That’s except, however, when there’s been a blue Moon before it.