June strawberry moon rises one day after summer solstice, which is the earliest in 228 years
There is magic in the sky each month when the full moon rises, marking the alignment of the sun, Earth and our planet's only natural satellite. It's an ancient indicator of time, and one that Native American tribes recognized as a signal of the changing seasons. They gave the moons names to mark the occasions, and while sky-gazers have variations on why moons garner certain monikers, most can agree on the ethereal appeal of the quiet lunar performance each month.
June's strawberry moon blooms this week, the first full moon to follow the summer solstice. It is also the lowest full moon of the year, according to NASA, reaching only 21.9 degrees above the southern horizon after midnight Saturday.
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In West Palm Beach, the strawberry moon will rise plump and full Friday, June 21, at 8:24 p.m., peeking up to the east in a perfect setting for the mysterious "moon illusion", where Earth's only natural satellite appears overly rotund as it rises.
June's full moon, which also goes by the nicknames Green Corn Moon or the Full Leaf Moon, happens one day past the June 20 astronomical first day of summer, or summer solstice.
The meteorological beginning of summer is June 1. Weather forecasters use meteorological seasons, which are grouped by months. Meteorologically, summer is June, July and August. It’s a more efficient measurement than using fractions of months and is based on the annual temperature cycle over the position of the Earth in relation to the sun, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
In 2016, the summer solstice occurred with June's full moon, an alignment that hadn't happened in nearly 70 years.
On the summer solstice, the sun appears highest in the sky for the year. Because full moons are opposite the sun, the June full moon is low in the sky.
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NASA columnist Gordon Johnson writes that in higher latitudes, a moon that is lower in the sky shines through more atmosphere, which can give it a reddish color. He said a European name for the June full moon is the "rose moon."
"Some sources indicate 'Rose Moon' comes from the roses that bloom this time of year," Johnson wrote. "Others indicate that the name comes from the color of the full moon."
This year's summer solstice is the earliest since 1796, when George Washington was serving as the first president of the United States. On average, summer solstices occur around June 21, according to Ethan Siegel in an article for Big Think. The timing occurs because of the way humans measure time, including the calendar-created idea of a leap year, in relation to what's going on in space between the Earth and the sun.
Partly because of the leap year addition — 2024 is a leap year ― summer solstices occur earlier than the prior year, according to Siegel. The calendar catches up to some extent during non-leap year centuries, which happens next in 2100.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: June's strawberry moon rises near summer solstice earliest in 228 years
