Two weeks ago, the moon was obscuring the sun in a partial solar eclipse. This week, it will appear in the sky as the first full moon of summer, just four days after the season started with the solstice and longest day of the year.
The June 2021 full moon, known as the strawberry moon, also will be the year’s last supermoon.
This super strawberry moon will rise just before 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 24, about a half-hour after sunset.
The National Weather Service forecast calls for mostly clear skies in the Lehigh Valley that evening for one of the year’s shortest nights. (We get about 15 hours of daylight this time of year but that will begin to shorten, imperceptibly at first, down to approximately 9 hours of sunlight by December.)
The strawberry moon is so named because it’s the time of year that berries are ready for picking, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, citing Native American tradition. The almanac also says the June full moon is known as the honey moon in Europe because this was historically considered the time to get married, and possibly the root for our own “honeymoon” traditions.
This full moon is also the third (or fourth) supermoon of 2021, depending on how strictly the term is defined. Generally, a supermoon is a full moon that happens when the moon is near its orbit’s closest point to Earth. The moon on those nights will appear slightly larger and brighter than other full moons, though the difference is only slight to casual observers.
(Can’t see the full moon calendar? Click here.)
2021 blue moon coming soon
We’re now two months away from a blue moon, at least by one definition.
The August 2021 full moon will be the third of four full moons in one season, making it a seasonal blue moon. (This is different from the 2020 Halloween blue moon, which was the second full moon in one month. Both definitions are based on timing – the moon does not actually appear blue in either case.)
A partial solar eclipse is seen through the clouds at dawn on June 10, 2021, from Washington Township, Northampton County, in the Lehigh Valley's Slate Belt.Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com
When is the next eclipse?
We won’t see anything as dramatic as the June 10 partial solar eclipse for some time. On that day, the moon hid about 75% of the sun’s face from our view in the Lehigh Valley, giving the impression of a crescent sun at dawn.
However, there will be a lunar eclipse visible across the U.S., weather-permitting, early on Nov. 19.
During a lunar eclipse, the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, giving it a red hue. It is sometimes called a blood moon for that reason. The November 2021 lunar eclipse will begin at 1 a.m. and last through 7 a.m., with the maximum around 4 a.m.
We’ll have another chance to see a lunar eclipse in May 2022, and part of one that November. We won’t see another partial solar eclipse here until October 2023.
When is the next meteor shower?
Two meteor showers become active in early to mid-July and peak at month’s end.
The southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids aren’t usually very spectacular meteor showers and will compete with the light of the three-quarters-full moon at peak on July 28-29, but the former can produce meteors at a decent rate while the latter is known for producing bright fireballs, according to the American Meteor Society.
The Perseid meteor shower follows in August. It’s one of the most comfortable to observe given the warm summer weather at peak the night of Aug. 11-12. The AMS also notes that the Perseids won’t have a lot of competition from moonlight this year.
(Can’t see the meteor shower calendar? Click here.)
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Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.