EYES TO THE SKIES FOR JUNE’S FULL MOON - THE “STRAWBERRY” MOON! PLUS A LUNAR STANDSTILL/LUNISTICE AND OTHER CELESTIAL TREATS! 💖🌕🌿🍓🔭✨️ - 10/06/25
On the evening of the 10th into the morning of the 11th of June we will hopefully be treated to views of a beautiful full moon, weather permitting of course. This will be last full moon before the Summer Solstice.
June’s full Moon will also appear particularly low in the sky for the whole time it is visible, reaching only 7 degrees high in the sky. This is due to the Moon being at one of its most extreme points in a 18.6 year orbital cycle, resulting in what is known as a “Lunar Standstill” or “Lunistice”. Its extremely low location in the sky will make the Moon display a warm red/orangey colour due to the effect of atmospheric refraction, and will also seem to appear larger than usual because of a trick of the eye effect known as the “Moon illusion”.
Although the full Moon may not be the astro-photographers best of friends, the full Moon always makes for a beautiful sight in the night sky and is an important marker of the seasons for many people.
June’s “Strawberry Moon” coincides with the fruiting of many Northern hemisphere plants (strawberry plants in particular) and is a sign of the typically warmer weather we begin to experience at this time of year.
If you would like to know more about this month’s full moon, the Lunar Standstill/Lunistice and when and where to see the Strawberry Moon, please read on…
WHAT IS A FULL MOON?
A full Moon occurs when its position in its orbit around Earth is at its furthest distance from the Sun (almost on the opposite side of the Earth compared to the Sun). This event, when the Earth stands almost directly between the Sun and Moon is also known as Syzygy. When this happens, the side of the Moon that can be seen from Earth is completely illuminated, giving it the appearance of being full.
WHAT IS A LUNAR STANDSTILL/LUNISTICE?
A Lunar Standstill/Lunistice is a point of time in a 18.6 year orbital cycle of the Moon when the Moon rises and sets at more northernly or southernly points along the horizon than usual. This effect is caused by the Earth’s, Moon’s and the Ecliptic’s axial and orbital relationship.
The Solar system plane (the path that all the planets orbits follow) is flat (like a disc), this plane is known as the Ecliptic. The Earth’s axis (centre of rotation) is tilted at 23.4 degrees in relation to the ecliptic. This tilt causes the Sun to appear higher or lower in the sky, varies the amount of time it is visible and causes it to rise/set in more northernly/southernly locations throughout the year. The Moons orbit is also tilted by 5.1 degrees in relation to the ecliptic, and due to this tilt in its orbit it can appear to rise/set in more northernly/southernly locations throughout an 18.6 year cycle.
Due to this effect, during a Lunar Standstill period the Moon will appear much higher or (at this moment in time) lower in the sky than usual.
These Lunar Standstills do not necessarily occur on a particular date but rather over a period of 2 years around the extremes of the 18.6 year cycle. The current Lunar Standstill period peaks this month and so June’s full Strawberry Moon will be one of the best times to view this effect.
THE STRAWBERRY MOON
Most full Moons derive their names from Native American tribes, which typically gave distinctions to Moons based on the time of year and the weathers relationship to crops harvests and the appearance of certain animals.
The full Moon in June is typically the last full moon of Spring, sometimes the first of Summer, and is often referred to as ‘The Strawberry Moon’. it has been found that this name was attributed to the Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota peoples among others. The reason for this name was that this time of year was often known to correspond with the ripening of the abundant late springtime fruit and was named so to celebrate the impending harvest. Another name that took inspiration from the harvest of the well-known and sought after fruit was the Haida name ‘Berries Ripen Moon’.
ALTERNATIVE MAY MOON NAMES
Whilst most commonly known as The Strawberry Moon, there are plenty of alternative full Moon names, mostly referencing to the flowering season. Some of these names are as follows; The Green Corn Moon (Cherokee) and The Hoer Moon (Western Abenaki) suggesting it’s time to tend to young crops.
Other names highlight and celebrate that June is often a time of new life. For example, The Birth Moon (Tlingit). As well as the Egg Laying Moon and Hatching Moon (Cree).
Other European names for this full moon are related to the fact that the late spring season is often the time to harvest honey, these names include The Honey Moon and The Mead Moon. Some suggest that honey and mead moons are named in reference to the idea that June is often the month of weddings and as such is named after the Roman Goddess of marriage, Juno. Following marriage comes the ‘honey moon’. Mead is a beverage created by fermenting honey with water and sometimes adding fruits, spices, grains or hops, therefore it is often brewed around this time when the honey and various fruits are harvested.
WHEN AND WHERE WILL THE FULL MOON OCCUR?
This month, the Moon will reach peak illumination whilst it is still beneath the horizon for those of us in the UK at roughly 10:13 BST on the 11th of May. This means the night where the Moon will appear most full will be the night of the 10th into the morning of the 11th.
The Moon will rise on the night of the 10th at around 21:43 in the South-East. As the night progresses the Moon will climb in the sky travelling Southwards. The Moon will reach an altitude of just over 7 degrees at its highest point in the sky at roughly 00:43 on the morning of the 11th towards the South. Following this, the Moon will begin to descend travelling Westwards before setting in the morning skies at around 03:39 am in the South West.
Remember that you don’t really need to know the exact time of peak illumination to enjoy viewing the full Moon, as the Moon will appear full throughout the night and on the nights surrounding the peak.
WHERE AMONG THE STARS CAN THE MOON BE FOUND?
Technically speaking, on the night of the 10th our natural satellite will start the night within the boundaries of the zodiacal constellation Scorpius before moving within the boundaries of the constellation of Ophiuchus the serpent bearer where it will remain for the rest of the night.
More specifically, the Moon can be found around 6 degrees to the left of the bright red star Antares (the brightest star of Scorpius), and just over 12 degrees below the star Sabik of Ophiuchus.
The constellations of Ophiuchus and Scorpius can be found below Hercules and in between Libra and Sagittarius.
LUNAR OBSERVATION
The great thing about observing the Moon is that we don’t have to go and find a particularly dark location to view it. As the Moon is such a bright object in the sky, we can view it from brighter locations, even from the centre of a heavily light polluted city. Weather permitting of course.
MOON RISE/SET – MOON ILLUSION
It's always lovely to watch the moon rise/set, so if you can head out to witness the Moon rise or set, please do. Every time the Moon rises and sets it takes on a beautiful golden, amber colour and appears larger at this time too, due to an optical illusion known as the ‘Moon illusion’. It's truly special to witness. As it rises and glides overhead it’s colour will transition into a bright white.
Sometimes the Moon can appear even more orangey red than usual too! The hue of the moon typically depends on atmospheric conditions wherever you’re viewing it from. Things like clouds, dust, haze, smoke or pollution can cause the moon to appear different colours by scattering much of the blue light shining onto our natural satellite, leaving it with a more reddish tone.
OTHER CELESTIAL TREATS
There are a number of other celestial treats about at this moment in time too. Here is a small selection of celestial treats to look out for:
- We have a small number of meteor showers active at this moment in time, including the June Bootids meteor shower. Although the full moon will drown out all but the brightest of these meteors, it is still worth keeping an eye out for those beautiful streaks of light known as shooting stars.
- The Milky Way core is out in all its glory in our late evening/early morning skies. The moonlight during the full moon may make the Milky Way almost impossible to see by eye whilst producing so much light. However, the Milky Way is certainly something to look out for or try to capture images of at this time of year when the Moon is not brightening our skies.
- The asterism known as the Summer Triangle is a prominent asterism in our current night time skies and can help you find where to view our home galaxy the Milky Way. The brightest stars of the constellations Cygnus, Lyra and Aquila – the stars Deneb, Vega and Altair respectively, create a huge triangle in the night sky known as the Summer Triangle. They are located in a bright section of the Milky Way known as the Cygnus region. The body of the swan Cygnus also creates a cross like shape known as the Northern Cross. If you follow the length of the cross and continue tracing along the direction of this line, this can show you where the rest of the Milky Way stretches across the sky.
- The great Hercules globular star cluster M13 in the constellation of Hercules is an awe-inspiring sight when viewed through binoculars or a telescope and is also visible to the naked eye under favourable conditions. The glow from this Summer time treat (created from a super dense concentration of stars) is becoming easier to see in our night time skies and we recommend you try to find it with your binoculars or telescope.
- Although the period of time around the Summer Solstice is considered by many as the “off season” of the Aurora season, the Northern Lights may be still be seen dancing on our Northern horizons on nights of strong auroral activity. Typically, the bright Moon tends to wash the aurora out, however occasionally there are displays that are so strong they are visible despite the moonlight.
This June is also a fairly good time to spot some bright planets…
- The brilliantly bright planet Venus can currently be fairly easily seen shining brightly at an impressive magnitude of -4.31 towards the East in the early morning just before sunrise.
- Although the observing window for Mars is slowly closing throughout June, the red planet Mars can currently be observed in the constellation of Leo the lion for a few hours just after sunset.
- This month we are slowly seeing the return of the amazing ringed planet Saturn which will become easier to observe as the month progresses. Saturn can currently be observed in the constellation of Pisces towards the East in the early morning just before sunrise.
GET A CLOSER LOOK
If you own a pair of binoculars or a telescope, you can get an even closer look at the Moon, stars and other celestial treats, revealing fantastic details. The Moon with its mares and craters, the planets and the radiant Hercules cluster are all amazing to view using binoculars or a telescope.
WHAT ELSE IS IN THE NIGHT SKY THROUGHOUT JUNE?
If you would like to know more about the rest of the celestial treats that can be seen in the skies throughout June, please head to our YouTube channel to watch our Night Sky Guide video for June 2025.
CLOSING WORDS FROM ASTRO DOG
This month’s full Strawberry Moon will be a beautiful sight, and with it being so low in the sky will make it an even more special occasion! So if you can, we recommend heading out to witness this June’s full Moon!
If you manage to capture any photographs, please feel free to share them on this post or tag Astro Dog. 😊
Good luck if you head out folks. Wrap up warm if you do. Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Clear skies 💖
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