Less than a month after May’s spectacular total lunar eclipse, stargazers have another celestial event to admire. A Strawberry Supermoon will rise Tuesday, but don’t expect a rosy orb in the sky. This second full moon of the year is named for its appearance during strawberry picking time and not for its hue.
Since the moon also happens to be at its closest distance to Earth in its orbit, it will be exceptionally big and bright – making it a supermoon by most standards.
“The common definition of a supermoon is any full Moon that is at a distance of at least 90% of perigee (which is the point at which the Moon is closest to Earth),” The Old Farmer’s Almanac explains. “June’s full Moon stands at 222,238.4 miles (357,658 km) away—comfortably within that cut-off point.”
NASA says a supermoon appears about 17% bigger and 30% brighter than the faintest moon of the year when it’s farthest from Earth in its orbit. Supermoons occur three to four times a year and always consecutively.
June’s full Moon will reach peak illumination at 7:52 A.M. Eastern Time on June 14, but will not be visible in North American time zones until later tonight, when it drifts above the horizon. Check the Almanac’s Moonrise and Moonset Calculator to determine the best viewing time in your area.
How to view it?
Tonight’s full moon will be low in the sky. As long as skies are clear and nothing’s blocking your view, you should be able to see it without any equipment.
Locally, this supermoon will rise around 9:30 p.m. roughly one hour after sunset. The actual full moon occurred at 7:52 this morning so the moon won’t be quite 100% illuminated, but with 99.8% illumination tonight, any dimming of the full moon will be barely noticeable, even in telescopes.
“Full moons are a fun time to observe lunar features, as the rest of the sky will be washed out by the light,” says Space.com. “With the naked eye, you can see the vast highlands and lowlands of the moon, which can appear to be certain shapes and generate stories about those shapes, depending on the culture you follow.”
If you do have binoculars or a telescope, you’ll be able to see craters, mountains and other features of the moon’s surface.
You can also watch the full moon rise over Rome starting at 3:15 p.m. ET, thanks to a free livestream from the Virtual Telescope Project in Ceccano, Italy.
If you miss tonight’s supermoon, don’t worry. There’s another one coming July 13 followed by the last supermoon of 2022 on August 11.
Looking for more Moon-gazing tips? Check out our latest full Moon guide to stay in the know through July: https://t.co/ft8aX88t2x
— NASA (@NASA) June 13, 2022
