The last supermoon of 2021 occurs on Thursday, June 24th at 2:40pm, this will be the Full Strawberry Supermoon. Technically, it’s 100% full at 2:40pm on Thursday afternoon but to the naked eye it will seem full Wednesday night and Friday night as well. It’s called a “Super” full moon when it’s on the closest orbit to earth or the perigee. During this time, the moon can appear 7% bigger and 15% brighter than the average full moon. On the evening of Thursday, June 24th, the Super Strawberry Supermoon rises at 9:22pm and will be 99.5% full. The moon illusion happens during this time since the moon is closest to the horizon and looks the biggest.
Depending on when the full moon and June occurs, it could be the last full moon of spring or the first full moon of summer. Since the summer solstice occurred on June, 20th, this is the first full moon of the summer season. This time of the year is typically strawberry season in North America, hence the name “Strawberry” moon. It has many other names as well depending where you are and your culture.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac here are some other descriptions of what the June full moon is called:
Blooming Moon (Anishinaabe) is indicative of the flowering season,
Green Corn Moon (Cherokee) and Hoer Moon (Western Abenaki) suggest that it’s time to tend to young crops.
The Tlingit have used the term Birth Moon, referring to the time when certain animals are born in their region (the Pacific Northwest).
Egg Laying Moon and Hatching Moon are Cree terms that also hint at a time of many animal babies.
European names for this Moon include the Honey Moon and the Mead Moon.
Interesting to note, according to TimeandDate.com, there aren’t official rules to classify a super moon and various outlets use different definitions. EarthSky.com uses the original definition: A Supermoon– coined by astrologer Richard Noelle in 1979 – a full moon or new moon has to come within 90% of its closest approach to Earth to be dubbed a supermoon. In other words, any full moon or new moon that comes to within 224,791 miles or 361,766 km (or less) of our planet, as measured from the centers of the moon and Earth, can be called a supermoon.
Supermoons of 2021:
April 26/27, 2021: 222,212 miles (357,615 km)
May 26, 2021: 222,117 miles (357,462 km)
June 24, 2021: 224,662 miles (361,558 km)
To check our forecast for viewing the Strawberry SuperMoon, click here for your 7 First Alert Forecast.
