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Time Magazine
5 days ago
- Science
- Time Magazine
How and When You Can See June's Spectacular Strawberry Moon
An upcoming lunar event is sure to catch the attention of avid sky-watchers. In June, the Strawberry Moon will make an appearance. Known for its unique amber hues and, at certain glances, rosy glow, the Strawberry Moon is thought of as the final full moon of the spring or the first full moon of the summer. It's the 6th of 12 full moons in 2025. In short, it's something you won't want to miss. In rare moments, the Strawberry Moon can occur at the same time as the summer solstice. This was the case in 2016, when Astronaut Jeff Williams of NASA captured the 'spectacular rise' of the full moon from the International Space Station. In 2023, the Strawberry Moon shone over New York City's Statue of Liberty landmark, resulting in striking photos taken in the early hours of the morning. Here's how and when you can see the celestial event in 2025: What exactly is the Strawberry Moon and how did it get its name? The name Strawberry Moon comes from the fact that the month of June is when the harvesting of strawberries occurs, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Moons often get their name from the season, like how May's Flower Moon references spring's abundance of blossoms. According to Western Washington University, the Strawberry Moon moniker was used by several Indigenous tribes. Other Native American tribes have called the lunar spectacular the Hot Moon and the Blooming Moon, to commemorate the spring season, and the Hatching Moon or Birth Moon to commemorate new life. Outside of North America, Europeans have in the past dubbed it the Rose Moon or even the Honey Moon, as June is typically the first honey harvest of the year. When can you see the 2025 Strawberry Moon? The Strawberry Moon's peak is expected to fall on June 11 at 3:44 A.M. ET, though the best time to view the moon will be as it rises on June 10 at dusk in the Southeast of the U.S., when the moon casts a warm, amber hue across the sky. The moon rising occurs at different times depending on location. In New York, for example, the best time to view the lunar event will be at 8:30 p.m. in New York, and around 8:00 p.m. in Los Angeles. The red supergiant star Antares will be visible in the night sky on June 10 or 11. Australians and New Zealanders, along with those in the South Pacific, will be able to watch the moon occult—or block—Antares. Antares is the brightest star in the Scorpius constellation, and its lunar occultation will occur at twilight for those in the western part of the South Pacific, and in the eastern part of the region it will occur later in the evening, around 7:00 p.m. local time. What is the best way to witness the 2025 Strawberry Moon? The moon will appear clearest in places without light pollution and from an elevated spot. Ideal locations include someplace with an uncompromised view of the eastern horizon June's Strawberry Moon is also the lowest-hanging full moon of the year as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. According to EarthSky, this Strawberry Moon is the lowest full moon since 2006, due to the major lunar standstill. This phenomenon, which occurs every 18.6 years, causes the moonrise and moonset to occur at the most extreme north and southernmost points. Best practices for viewing the moon with a bare eye is to give yourself "plenty of time for your eyes to adjust and look carefully," according to NASA. But the full moon can be seen with even more specificity via binoculars or a small telescope, which allow viewers to observe many different features of the moon, including its mountain ridges and where it has been marked by impacts from other celestial objects.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
When is the next full moon? What to know about June's Strawberry Moon
June's full moon will be the last full moon of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. A full moon happens about once per month — or every 29.5 days — and occurs when the moon is aligned in such a way that Earth is "between" the moon and sun, according to the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Full moons rise around sunset and set around sunrise and are visible for a few days, according to NASA. A full moon will happen at 12:43 a.m. PT on June 11, 2025, according to Time and Date. This full moon is often referred to as the Strawberry Moon. The Strawberry Moon got its name from Native American tribes in the northeastern U.S. that used it to "mark the ripening of 'June-bearing' strawberries that are ready to be gathered," according to the Old Farmer's Almanac website. The name doesn't have anything to do with the moon's color, according to the website. The Maine Farmer's Almanac began printing Native American moon names in the 1930s, according to a 2024 article by NASA. Indigenous tribes "gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year," according to Western Washington University. The June full moon has alternative names, such as Leaf Moon, Green Corn Moon and Hoer Moon, according to the university. These are the moon phases in June 2025, according to Moongiant: 🌓 First Quarter: June 3. 🌕 Full Moon: June 11. 🌗 Last Quarter: June 18. 🌑 New Moon: June 25. The summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere will occur on June 20, 2025, according to The summer solstice is the astronomical start of summer. This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Next full moon 2025: What to know about June's Strawberry Moon
Economic Times
02-05-2025
- Science
- Economic Times
Human skull on Mars? What did NASA just discover on the red planet
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Popular in International A curious discovery has captured the attention of both scientists and space enthusiasts. On Mars 's remote slope of Jezero Crater, NASA 's Perseverance rover sent back an image of a rock that resembled a human skull. About the size of a basketball, the rock-like structure is completely different from its dusty some people, it may seem like a cosmic coincidence, but for others, it is another reminder of the Red Planet's mystery and the possibility of life outside Perseverance rover is a car-sized robotic spacecraft dispatched by NASA to explore the Jezero Crater on Mars as a key part of the Mars 2020 to Margaret Deahn, a Ph.D. student at Purdue University and a member of the NASA team, Skull Hill is most likely what's known as a 'float rock.' This means it didn't originate where it currently sits but was transported there by natural forces, likely from an impact crater or volcanic activity.'It could have come from a volcanic outcrop or a distant impact, carried over by ancient Martian winds or water flows,' Deahn explained. Scientists also estimate that as much as 30% of the surface rocks in Jezero Crater may have been displaced over millions of even suggest that it could be a meteorite, as Mars' thin atmosphere a lot of times fails to burn up the incoming space debris, and NASA's Curiosity rover had found several iron-nickel meteorites in Gale in this case, after a closer inspection, Perseverance's SuperCam, which is a laser-powered chemical analyzer, revealed that Skull Hill's composition didn't match that of a typical also suggested that the object is an igneous rock formed from volcanic magma, and the presence of minerals like olivine and pyroxene, which are considered common in volcanic rocks, supports this pitted and angular surface of the Skull, along with its dark tone, makes it even more interesting. The pits are likely the result of wind erosion or the loss of small rock fragments. Rocks like Skull Hill are time capsules, offering critical clues about the planet's geological history and helping in understanding Mars' past.'Every rock we encounter on Mars is like a page in the planet's unfinished autobiography,' said Dr. Melissa Rice, a planetary geologist at Western Washington University. 'And Skull Hill? It's one of those chapters that makes you stop and think.'The question of whether Mars was ever home to life remains one of the most curious mysteries, and the search continues, with the hope that one day, the Red Planet will reveal its secrets.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Human skull on Mars? What did NASA just discover on the red planet
A curious discovery has captured the attention of both scientists and space enthusiasts. On Mars 's remote slope of Jezero Crater, NASA 's Perseverance rover sent back an image of a rock that resembled a human skull. About the size of a basketball, the rock-like structure is completely different from its dusty surroundings. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack Nuclear Power! How India and Pakistan's arsenals stack up Does America have a plan to capture Pakistan's nuclear weapons? Airspace blockade: India plots a flight path to skip Pakistan For some people, it may seem like a cosmic coincidence, but for others, it is another reminder of the Red Planet's mystery and the possibility of life outside Earth. The Perseverance rover is a car-sized robotic spacecraft dispatched by NASA to explore the Jezero Crater on Mars as a key part of the Mars 2020 mission. 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by According to Margaret Deahn, a Ph.D. student at Purdue University and a member of the NASA team, Skull Hill is most likely what's known as a 'float rock.' This means it didn't originate where it currently sits but was transported there by natural forces, likely from an impact crater or volcanic activity. 'It could have come from a volcanic outcrop or a distant impact, carried over by ancient Martian winds or water flows,' Deahn explained. Scientists also estimate that as much as 30% of the surface rocks in Jezero Crater may have been displaced over millions of years. Live Events Some even suggest that it could be a meteorite, as Mars' thin atmosphere a lot of times fails to burn up the incoming space debris, and NASA's Curiosity rover had found several iron-nickel meteorites in Gale Crater. But in this case, after a closer inspection, Perseverance's SuperCam, which is a laser-powered chemical analyzer, revealed that Skull Hill's composition didn't match that of a typical meteorite. It also suggested that the object is an igneous rock formed from volcanic magma, and the presence of minerals like olivine and pyroxene, which are considered common in volcanic rocks, supports this theory. The pitted and angular surface of the Skull, along with its dark tone, makes it even more interesting. The pits are likely the result of wind erosion or the loss of small rock fragments. Rocks like Skull Hill are time capsules, offering critical clues about the planet's geological history and helping in understanding Mars' past. 'Every rock we encounter on Mars is like a page in the planet's unfinished autobiography,' said Dr. Melissa Rice, a planetary geologist at Western Washington University. 'And Skull Hill? It's one of those chapters that makes you stop and think.' The question of whether Mars was ever home to life remains one of the most curious mysteries, and the search continues, with the hope that one day, the Red Planet will reveal its secrets.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A thousand stars are fleeing home in a hurry, and scientists don't know why
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A huge family of newborn stars seem to now be going their separate ways: Over 1,000 stars are hurriedly fleeing their nest in record time, leading to something of a mystery as to the cause of this stellar breakup. Typically it takes a few hundred million years for a cluster of stars that are born together to break up, gradually nudged apart by gravitational tidal forces from each other and other passing objects. For example, the famous Pleiades star cluster (Messier 45), which is a tight grouping of young stars visible to the naked eye in the constellation of Taurus, the Bull, is 100 million years old, while the Beehive Cluster (Messier 44) in Cancer, the Crab, is around 600 million years old (and a little more dispersed than the Pleiades). Yet a newly discovered young open cluster of stars, barely 20 million years old, seems to be playing by a different set of rules. Using data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, which measured the position, velocity, distance and spectra of approximately two billion stars, astronomers led by Dylan Huson of Western Washington University found that the thousand stars of this new cluster are all moving too fast to stay together. The cluster is about 650 light-years away in Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, and has been nicknamed "Ophion" in honor of its resident constellation. "Ophion is filled with stars that are set to rush out across the galaxy in a totally haphazard, uncoordinated way, which is far from what we'd expect for a family so big," said Huson in a statement. "What's more, this will happen in a fraction of the time it'd usually take for such a large family to scatter. It's like no other star family we've seen before." The range of velocities in a star cluster is known as its velocity dispersion. Because giant molecular clouds that give birth to stars are cold, they have low energy and therefore low velocity dispersions of just a few kilometers per second, which they should pass on to their fledgling stars. This means that the stars of a cluster should all be moving at more or less the same low velocity, which allows their mutual gravity to keep a hold of them for longer. The velocity dispersion in Ophion, as measured by Gaia, is much larger than normal, at 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) per second. In other words, the difference between the fastest and slowest moving stars in Ophion is 20 kilometers per second. With such a high velocity dispersion, Ophion will quickly fly apart. The only reason we see these stars together at the moment is because they are so young and they haven't had the chance to separate yet. "We don't know exactly what happened to this star family to make it behave this way, as we haven't found anything quite like it before," said Marina Kounkel of the University of North Florida, who was part of the discovery team. "It's a mystery." The existence of Ophion was not immediately obvious. Huson and Kounkel's team were testing a new model, called Gaia Net, which can simultaneously analyze the spectra of millions of stars, when the cluster popped out of the data. "This is the first time it's been possible to use a model like this for young stars, due to the immense volume and high quality of spectroscopic observations needed to make it work," said Johannes Sahlmann, Gaia project scientist at the European Space Agency. "It's still pretty new to be able to reliably measure the parameters of lots of young stars at once. This kind of bulk observing is one of Gaia's truly unprecedented achievements." Related stories: — A 'runaway star' could save Earth from extinction a billion years from now. Here's how. — New clues emerge about runaway star Zeta Ophiuchi's violent past — Gaia spacecraft: Mapping the Milky Way like never before So, what has led Ophion's stars to head out on their own trajectories in such a hurry so early in their life? While scrutinizing the Gaia data, Huson's team noticed several large voids — areas where supernova shockwaves have blown away the interstellar gas. Astronomers call these voids "superbubbles," and it's possible that much of the remaining gas in Ophion following the formation of its stars was blown away too by the stellar blast waves. Losing so much mass in the guise of all this gas had a feedback effect, loosening the cluster's hold on its stars. Gravitational tidal effects from the mass of neighboring star-forming regions could also have given Ophion's stars an extra push. "Excitingly, it changes how we think about star groups and how to find them. Previous methods identified families by clustering similarly moving stars together, but Ophion would have slipped through this net," said Kounkel. "Without the huge, high-quality datasets from Gaia, and the new models we can now use to dig into these, we may have been missing a big piece of the stellar puzzle." So there may be other young families of stars out there racing apart. Our view of Ophion is like a photograph of a young adult just before they leave home for college. They're on their way, but haven't quite left the nest just yet. Where these stars will end up is anyone's guess, but they are destined to wander the space lanes alone. Huson's team lays out the Gaia Net model in a new study, which was published April 25 in The Astrophysical Journal.
