How This Weekend's Strawberry Moon Got Its Name

Summer is just around the corner, and June's full moon is set to rise on Saturday night, marking 2023's "strawberry moon."

The moon is set to become entirely full at 11:42 pm ET on Saturday, NASA reported, lighting up the dark June night.

The name "strawberry moon" comes from the Native American name for the June full moon.

"June's full moon was named to what translates in the English language as 'strawberry moon' by several indigenous peoples, including members of the Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota, and Lakota peoples, to mark the ripening of wild strawberries," Catherine Boeckmann, senior digital editor for the website of The Old Farmer's Almanac, previously told Newsweek.

Other Native American communities called the June full moon by a variety of other names, including the blooming moon (Anishinaabe), green corn moon (Cherokee), hoer moon (Western Abenaki), birth moon (Tlingit), egg-laying moon or hatching moon (Cree). These latter names refer to the fact that many animals are born or hatched during this time of year.

In Europe, the June full moon was also called the mead or honey moon, as well as the rose moon, which may refer to the seasonal blooming of roses, or the reddish color of the full moon when it is low in the sky, as it usually is in June.

This Strawberry Moon will appear mere weeks before the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice on June 21, which is the longest day of the year and the beginning of astronomical summer. This is when the North Pole is tilted the most towards the sun, meaning that the sun takes the longest route through the sky between rising and setting.

The moon usually appears low in the sky in the weeks flanking this date, which may contribute to a pinkish hue due to light being scattered by the atmosphere—this is also why sunrises and sunsets appear red.

Every full moon of the year has a name, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac, including the wolf moon in January, February's snow moon, March's worm moon, and September and October's harvest moon.

NASA reports that on June 3, the strawberry moon will be visible 10 degrees above the southeastern horizon near the star Antares. The moon will appear full throughout the weekend. Two of our solar system's planets will also be visible: a brightly shining Venus will appear as a bright light 22 degrees above the west-northwestern horizon, while the dimmer and more red-hued Mars will be seen 28 degrees above the western horizon, near the Beehive Cluster.

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