You may have noticed the moon looked a little different last night — it was full, low, and in some places glowed with a bright-pink hue.
It was June’s Strawberry Moon — so named not because of the reddish glow, but because its namesake fruit is ready to be harvested in June.
The full moon peaked in illumination at 3:44 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
In some locations, fittingly, the moon radiated a strawberry-like red-and-pink glow due to its low position and light passing through the densest parts of the atmosphere. The phenomenon was visible in New York City, Florida and across the pond in the U.K. and Cyprus.
Last night’s lunar spectacle marked the lowest full moon visible from the northern hemisphere in decades — the likes of which won’t be seen again until 2043.
“Strawberry Moon” has been used by Native American Algonquin tribes in the Northeastern U.S., as well as the Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota peoples, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.
Alternative names for the June full moon used by Indigenous cultures include the “Birth Moon” and the “Hatching Moon,” referring to a time when animal babies are born. European names for the June full moon include the “Honey Moon” and “Mead Month,” as June was traditionally a month for marriage.
