Gaze up at the night sky tomorrow night and, provided it isn’t too cloudy, you’ll be in for a real treat. The ‘strawberry supermoon’ is set to light up the heavens in one of the year’s most impressive lunar displays.
According to The Royal Observatory, the full moon will peak on Tuesday, June 14, but the timing of moonrise will depend on where you are. In the UK, moonrise will take place at about 10pm BST, in Los Angeles it’ll be just before 9pm PDT and in New York it’ll be just after 9pm EDT. You can check your specific moonrise timings here.
Now, if you’re new to all this moongazing stuff, you’ll likely have a couple of questions. What is a supermoon? And why is this one called the ‘strawberry supermoon’?
Well, a supermoon occurs because the moon has an elliptical orbit, meaning that it is much closer to Earth at some points in its cycle than others. When a full moon coincides with the moon being at its closest point to Earth, it looks much bigger than usual – and that’s called a supermoon. This supermoon will be the biggest of the year.
The moon on Tuesday is called the ‘strawberry supermoon’ because the supermoon combines with the ‘strawberry moon’, which is thought to originally have been named by Native American tribes. It typically comes at the time of year when strawberries and other fruits are ready to be harvested.
So get ready for some spectacular moongazing. And if it looks like your next few nights will be blighted by cloudy weather, don’t fear. You can watch the strawberry supermoon rise live online here.
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