June’s full moon, traditionally known as the “strawberry moon,” is usually the last full moon of spring or first of summer. This year it happened on Monday night and was also a “supermoon.”
The lunar event was most visible for residents of Pennsylvania on Monday night with the best viewing occuring between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.
The strawberry moon gets its name from strawberries which have a brief harvest season around the same time as the full moon. This moon and other lunar events often get their names from a variety of sources, cultures and traditions.
If you missed Monday night’s supermoon there are three others happening this summer:
• Full Buck moon on July 13.
• Full Sturgeon moon on Aug. 12.
• Full Harvest moon on Sept. 10.
Supermoons are defined as any full moon situated at a distance of 90% perigee or higher, the point where the moon is closest to the Earth. The strawberry moon was about 222,238.4 miles from the planet when it rose Monday night.
Supermoons are known to appear 30% brighter and about 17% larger than regular full moons, visually though they seem fairly similar.
