Warmer days of June call for strawberry rhubarb pie, strawberry shortcake, and the inedible, but perhaps the most Instagram-worthy of the list, the Strawberry Moon.
This month’s full moon is so named not because it looks like a strawberry in color or likeliness, but because of the fruit’s seasonal nature. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, Algonquin tribes saw the moon as a marker that the fruit was ripe for the picking.
The Strawberry Moon will reach peak fullness shortly after 9 a.m. on Friday, June 9, but you'll still see beautiful views the evening prior. Unfortunately, this year’s Strawberry Moon does not coincide with the summer solstice like it did last year — that isn’t predicted to happen again until 2062. This year’s summer solstice will occur a little less than two weeks after the Strawberry Moon on Wednesday, June 21.
However, the 2017 moon does have one unique claim to fame: It’s a minimoon. Space.com reports that minimoons, or full moons that look smaller than normal, only occur once a year. The opposite of a supermoon, a minimoon is at the farthest point in orbit from earth.
Slooh.com will be live streaming views of the moon from its telescopes in Chile and the Canary Islands on June 8, beginning at 7 p.m. Tune in there, or settle in with a glass of rosé on the rooftop of your choice.