June's Strawberry Moon treats skywatchers to a rare low-riding show (photos)
June's full 'Strawberry Moon' lit up the night sky last night, treating skywatchers to a rare once-in-a-18-year display as it rode low across the southern horizon.
Skywatchers were served the lowest full moon in almost two decades, thanks in part to a quirk of orbital mechanics known to astronomers as a "major lunar standstill". This phenomenon occurs over a two-year period when the moon's tilted orbit is at its greatest inclination relative to our planet's celestial equator (which is essentially Earth's normal equator projected out into space).
During a major lunar standstill, the moon can be seen rising and setting at more extreme positions on the horizon, while tracking a very high — or low — path through the night sky depending on the time of year. June's Strawberry Moon occurs close to the southern solstice for those in the southern hemisphere, which means that it's never particularly high in the sky to begin with. The major lunar standstill exacerbated this effect, making the June full moon the lowest full moon in almost two decades.
This month's full Strawberry Moon was named for the brief fruit picking season that occurs around this time each year by Algonquian, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.
Read on to see the best pictures of the 2025 Strawberry Moon as captured by the global astrophotography community. As always, if you missed last night's full moon don't worry. The lunar disk will continue to appear (almost) fully lit for the next few nights, so be sure to read up on the best practices for observing and photographing the lunar surface as it transitions to a waning gibbous moon in the coming days.
Space enthusiast Marwella Zhang was able to capture this detailed portrait of the Flower Moon around midnight from Bangka Island in Indonesia, while grappling with the haze caused by tropical storm Wutip.
"After sunset, the sky was starting to get clear," Zhang told Space.com in an email. "I took my first shot, but the sky was still hazy. By midnight, as it had been predicted, the sky got clear, and I took the opportunity to get a better shot of the moon."
New York's photography contingent also showed up in force to capture stunning compositions of the full moon framed by the iconic city skyline. Photographer Gary Hershorn was able to position himself to capture the orange orb of the Strawberry Moon hanging above the spire of the Empire State Building on the night of June 10.
Hershorn also used a powerful lens to snap the moment Earth's natural satellite appeared to brush up against the famous landmark, creating a colorful scene that blends the warm reflected sunlight bouncing off the lunar surface with the glow of the city beneath.
Kristin Louise Raught caught a striking view of the Strawberry Moon hanging over the ghostly form of Mt. Rainier in Washington State on June 10. "I went out to get a photo of the moon directly over Tahoma (Mt. Rainier) but I saw the ferry coming and wanted to include it in the photo," Raught told Space.com in an email.
"Rather than wait for the moon to align with the mountain, I decided to instead catch the ferry at the last possible moment before it disappeared behind the building on the pier," explained Raught. "I wanted to preserve the detail in the moon, so I opted for less light in the photo overall. I was happy that the sailboat was positioned so perfectly at this moment, it adds a wonderful detail to the photo."
Andrew von Rathonyi took a different approach when eyeing the moon from the town of Irondequoit, New York, choosing to frame the celestial body as it appeared to graze the top of a low-hanging cloud, illuminating its fringes with reflected sunlight.
One particularly striking shot was captured by Ahsan Mohammed Ahmed Ahmed in the city of Halabja, Iraq, which featured the silhouette of a man playing the violin on a hillside, framed by the rising form of the full moon.
Ismael Adnan Yaqoob was able to snap the Strawberry Moon as it rose above a ferris wheel in the Iraqi city of Duhok on the night of June 10, at which point it had moved further from the horizon, losing the orange glow of moonrise.
Photographer Isla Terli was able to snap the silhouette of a passenger airliner from Turkey as it passed across the face of the full Strawberry Moon, along with the prominent craters, ejecta rays and lunar seas that mark its surface.
Twitter/X user @VeronicaJoPo caught the Strawberry Moon traveling low over Ely Cathedral in the town of Little Downham, Cambridgeshire, in the UK around the full moon phase.
Finally, photographer Isla Terli was able to capture this atmospheric shot of the Strawberry Moon rising over the Selimiye Mosque in the Turkish city of Edirne, soon after it had emerged from below the southeastern horizon.
Remember, the Strawberry Moon will appear almost completely lit in the nights following its full moon phase, which occurred at 3:44 a.m. EDT (0744 GMT) in the early hours of June 11 for viewers in New York.
Editor's Note: If you capture a picture of the Strawberry Moon and want to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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