On the night of June 13 and the morning of June 14, Texas residents and others around the country were able to gaze upon the strawberry supermoon. According to Fox 7 Austin, peak illumination for this event occurred at 7:52 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday.
“All the full moons have names,” EarthSky explains. “Popular names for the June full moon in Europe include the Honey Moon and the Mead Moon. Some Native Americans used the name Strawberry Moon for the June full moon, and that name is still the most common in North America. The name Strawberry Moon highlights the time of year when many species of berries open, particularly sweet strawberries.”
According to NASA, the name comes from the short strawberry harvest season in the northeast United States.
“An old European name for this full Moon is the Mead Moon or Honey Moon,” the NASA website explains. “Mead is a drink created by fermenting honey mixed with water and sometimes with fruits, spices, grains, or hops. In some countries, mead is also called honey wine (though in others honey wine is different). Some writings suggest that the time around the end of June was when honey was ready for harvesting, which made this the ‘sweetest’ Moon.”
EarthSky explains that a supermoon is either a new or full moon within 90% of its closest point to Earth, the closest it will be for the month. The strawberry supermoon was around 222,089 miles away.
Also according to EarthSky, the June full moon mimicked the sun’s position at the same point in December.
“Because a full moon stays more or less opposite the sun, the full moon’s nighttime path mimics the sun’s daytime path from six months ago, or six months hence,” the website states. “This full moon occurs quite close to the June solstice, so this full moon follows nearly the same path across the sky as the December solstice sun. The December solstice is the Northern Hemisphere’s winter solstice. So the moon’s trek on the nights around the June full moon will resemble the low path of the winter solstice sun.”
According to NASA, supermoons have garnered more attention in recent decades. In a given year, there could be between two and four of both new supermoons and full supermoons. Full supermoons are more popular amongst the public because they are more clearly visible in the sky.
The June 13 supermoon marks the first full moon of the summer, or the last full moon of spring.
“As seen from the Americas, the full moon on the night of June 13, 2022, will be located in the direction of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer,” EarthSky shared on June 12. “Yet you’ll notice a bright star nearby: Antares, Heart of the Scorpion in the constellation Scorpius. When it rises on June 14, 2022, the moon will still appear full. On that night, from the Americas, it’ll lie eastward of the previous night’s location, in front of Sagittarius, among the noticeable asterism called the Teapot.”
There will be two more full supermoons in 2022: the buck moon will be visible on July 13, and the grain moon can be seen on August 12.