When is the next full moon? The June Strawberry Moon is special. Here's why, what it is

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2 days ago

June's full moon is next week and it will bring a special sight in the sky.
We're in the middle of a major lunar standstill, meaning June's full moon will be at its lowest point since 2006. And it won't happen again until 2043. June's full moon, called the Strawberry Moon, will also be the first full moon of the summer.
And because of how low the full moon will be positioned, it will appear larger than normal and may even appear to have a golden or orange tint.
Here's when the June Strawberry Moon is, why it's called that and why this month's full moon will be special for the Northern Hemisphere.
The next full moon will be on Wednesday, June 11, and is called the Strawberry Moon. The full moon will reach its peak at 3:44 a.m. ET on June 11.
Don't miss June's full moon! Best Florida viewing of rare 'Major lunar standstill'
The June full moon is called the Strawberry Moon because it's tied to wild strawberry harvesting, which is a spring food staple to the Native tribes in North America.
'The June full Moon got the name 'Strawberry Moon' from a number of North American native tribes, since the wild strawberry reaches peak ripeness and is ready for harvesting in June,' The Almanac says.
'Because of the importance of the wild strawberry as a spring food staple, the name 'Strawberry Moon' was given to the June full Moon by the Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota, Lakota, Chippewa, Oneida and Sioux tribes… Several tribes use other berry-related names for the June full Moon, depending on which berries are most prominent in their homelands.'
Here are some other names for the June full moon, according to the Farmers' Almanac:
Blackberry Moon, used by The Creek of the southeastern United States
Raspberry Moon, used by The Shawnee of Ohio and Pennsylvania
Berries Ripen Moon, used by The Haida tribe of Alaska
Windy Moon, used by The Choctaw of the southern Great Plains
Honey Moon or Mead Moon, from Anglo-Saxon traditions
Rose Moon, used in much of Europe
Lotus Moon, used in China
In 2024, to honor the first white buffalo calf being born in Yellowstone National Park, Farmers' Almanac named June's full Moon the 'White Buffalo Moon.'
June's full moon will be special. It will be the lowest full moon since 2006 and the last until 2043. And it may also appear golden or orangey in color, due to how low it will sit on the horizon.
"In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be the lowest full moon seen until 2043, staying unusually close to the horizon " according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Look for the full moon at 3:44 a.m. ET June 11, about 22 degrees above the southern horizon."
The last time the full moon was this low was 18.6 years ago, according to starwalk.space.com, in what's known as a major lunar standstill. It won't happen again until 2043.
This full moon may even appear golden, orange, or even reddish. Because June's full moon will sit so low on the horizon, pollutants in the air could make it look golden or orangey, which often happens while the moon is rising.
If you've ever spotted an orange or yellow-ish moon high in the sky on a night that there isn't a lunar eclipse, it's due to pollutants in the atmosphere — like dust, or smoke from wildfires or brush fires.
The particles of pollutants scatter light and can make the moon look yellow-ish, orange or even red sometimes. The moon most often appears red, yellow or orange when it's rising or setting, which is more common than seeing a discolored risen moon high in the sky.
'Atmospheric particles tend to scatter shorter wavelengths of light more than longer wavelengths. Orange and red light, which have longer wavelengths, tend to pass through the atmosphere, while shorter wavelengths of light, such as blue, get scattered,' Wonderopolis says.
'That's why the Moon — and the Sun! — look orange or red when they're rising or setting. At those times, they're low in the sky close to the horizon and their light must travel through the maximum amount of atmosphere to reach your eyes.'
June's full moon is the closest full moon to the summer solstice, which falls on June 21 this year. The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Every year in June, the summer solstice marks the exact time when the sun reaches it northernmost point in the sky, according to EarthSky. In the Northern Hemisphere, the June solstice marks the shortest night and longest day of the year.
The summer solstice occurs at 10:41 p.m. ET on Friday, June 20 this year.
According to the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, 'Every 18.6 years, our moon reaches the extremes of its orbit around the earth… The moon rises and sets at its most northerly and southerly positions on the horizon." This is called a major lunar standstill. We entered the current major lunar standstill six months ago, in December.
Major lunar standstills are possible because the moon and sun don't follow the same path across our horizon. And the moon's orbit around the earth wobbles. The imperfectness of the moon's orbit around earth means that it gradually rises and sets at different points across the horizon over the 18.6-year-period between Major Lunar Standstills.
In simpler terms: It takes just over 18-and-a-half years for the moon to wobble from south, to north and back.
During the December full moon, known as the Cold Moon, the moon officially reached its northernmost position, where it will stay positioned for about two years – that's where the 'standstill' part of the name comes from.
But that doesn't mean it will appear at the same place in the sky every night for two years, because the moon still goes through its phases.
'While this back and forth travel on the horizons occurs, we still observe the moon going through its familiar phases. That means each day the moon rises and sets in a slightly different phase and just less than an hour later in time,' The Griffith Observatory says.
'This can make observing the major lunar standstill challenging. The best standstill viewing is when the moon is full.'
To see the June Strawberry Moon from Florida, look toward the southern horizon at 3:44 a.m. ET on Wednesday, June 11.
Can't pull yourself out of bed? You can see it later, but that's the time it will reach its peak. Although a full moon only stays truly full for a moment, it still appears full to the naked eye for a few days.
'The moon appears full to the eye for two to three nights,' according to EarthSky. 'However, astronomers regard the moon as full at a precisely defined instant, when the moon is exactly 180 degrees opposite the sun in ecliptic longitude.'
Make sure you have a clear view since June's full moon will only be positioned about 22 degrees above the horizon.
There are 12 full moons each year, one in every month. Each month's full moon has a nickname or a variety of nicknames. Including the Strawberry Moon in June, there are seven full moons left in 2025.
Here's a list of 2025's full moon dates:
January 13: Wolf Moon
February 12: Snow Moon
March 14: Worm Moon
April 12: Pink Moon
May 12: Flower Moon
June 11: Strawberry Moon
July 10: Buck Moon
August 9: Sturgeon Moon
September 7: Corn Moon
October 6: Harvest Moon
November 5: Beaver Moon
December 4: Cold Moon
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Full moon in June 2025 will be Strawberry Moon. Why it's special