Stunning photos show the rare strawberry full moon lighting up the sky
The full strawberry moon rises behind the Empire State Building in New York City on Tuesday, as seen from Weehawken, N.J. ()
June's one full moon — the so-called strawberry moon — dazzled the night sky Tuesday into Wednesday.
Photos show the low-hanging reddish moon low in the sky in places including New York City, Greece, Germany, Malta, China and Britain.
Last night's moon reached its lowest point in the sky in nearly two decades — and the lowest it'll be until 2043, due to what's called a 'major lunar standstill.' The phenomenon, which occurs every 18.6 years, happens when the moon reaches its furthest northern and southern points in the sky. The last major lunar standstill was in 2006.
Advertisement
The term 'strawberry moon' came from the Native American Algonquian tribes because this moon takes place during the time of year when strawberries are ripe and ready for harvest. Despite the moon having a reddish hue while it nears the horizon, the moon's nickname isn't a specific reference to its color.
'The origin of the name 'Strawberry Moon' has nothing to do with the Moon's hue or experience,' according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. 'A Moon usually appears reddish when it's close to the horizon because the light rays must pass through the densest layers of the atmosphere.'
The nickname given to June's full moon varies based on tribes. The Haida people, an Indigenous group in the Pacific Northwest, refer to it as the 'berries ripen moon,' while the Muscogee call it the 'blackberry moon' and the Shawnee tribe know it as the 'raspberry moon."
The strawberry moon rises in the sky behind the 5th century B.C. Parthenon temple at the ancient Acropolis hill, in Athens, on Tuesday. (Petros Giannakouris/AP)
The moon can be seen over the Schluchsee in Baden-Württemberg, Schluchsee, Germany on Tuesday. (Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The strawberry moon rises behind the steeple of St Paul's Anglican Cathedral and the dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Valletta, as seen from Sliema, Malta, on Tuesday. (Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters)
A full moon shines over the Nanshan Tree Viewing Platform on Tuesday in Chongqing, China. (Zhou Zhiyong/VCG via Getty Images)
Advertisement
A person watches the strawberry moon rise, as seen from Hampstead Heath, in London, on Tuesday. (Peter Cziborra/Reuters)
See more of our photo features on Yahoo News.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Washington Post
9 hours ago
- Washington Post
Blasts seen near Iran's Isfahan nuclear research facility
World Blasts seen near Iran's Isfahan nuclear research facility June 22, 2025 | 8:46 AM GMT Social media video verified by Mitchell Ulrich on X and Reuters shows strikes seen in the direction of the nuclear research facility in Isfahan, Iran.


The Hill
a day ago
- The Hill
Sunrise at Stonehenge draws druids, pagans and revelers to celebrate the summer solstice
LONDON (AP) — As the sun rose Saturday on the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, a crowd erupted in cheers at Stonehenge where the ancient monument in southern England has clocked the summer solstice over thousands of years. The orange ball crested the northeast horizon behind the Heel Stone, the entrance to the stone circle, and shone its beam of light into the center of one of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments. The solstice is one of the few occasions each year when visitors are allowed to walk among the stones, which are otherwise fenced off. The crowd gathered before dawn at the World Heritage Site to mark the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, beating the heat during the U.K.'s first amber heat-health alert issued since September 2023. Temperatures later topped 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Surrey, 80 miles (128 kilometers) east of Stonehenge, the hottest temperature recorded in the U.K. so far this year. About 25,000 sun devotees and other revelers, including druids, pagans, hippies, locals and tourists, showed up, according to English Heritage which operates the site. More than 400,000 others around the world watched a livestream. 'This morning was a joyous and peaceful occasion with the most beautiful sunrise,' said Richard Dewdney, head of operations at Stonehenge. 'It is fantastic to see Stonehenge continuing to enchant and connect people.' Stonehenge was built in stages 5,000 years ago on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain approximately 75 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of London. The unique stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period about 2,500 B.C. Some of the so-called bluestones are known to have come from the Preseli Hills in southwest Wales, nearly 150 miles (240 kilometers) away, and the altar stone was recently discovered to have come from northern Scotland, some 460 miles (740 kilometers) away. The site's meaning has been vigorously debated. Theories range from it being a coronation place for Danish kings, a druid temple, a cult center for healing, or an astronomical computer for predicting eclipses and solar events. The most generally accepted interpretation is that it was a temple aligned with movements of the sun — lining up perfectly with the summer and winter solstices.


San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Sunrise at Stonehenge draws druids, pagans and revelers to celebrate the summer solstice
LONDON (AP) — As the sun rose on the longest day of the year Saturday, a crowd erupted in cheers at Stonehenge where the ancient monument in southern England has clocked the summer solstice over thousands of years. The orange ball crested the northeast horizon behind the Heel Stone, the entrance to the stone circle, and shone its beam of light into the center of one of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments. The solstice is one of the few occasions each year when visitors are allowed to walk among the stones, which are otherwise fenced off. The crowd gathered before dawn at the World Heritage Site to mark the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, beating the heat during the U.K.'s first amber heat-health alert issued since September 2023. Temperatures later topped 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Surrey, 80 miles (128 kilometers) east of Stonehenge, the hottest temperature recorded in the U.K. this year. About 25,000 sun devotees and other revelers, including druids, pagans, hippies, locals and tourists, showed up, according to English Heritage which operates the site. More than 400,000 others around the world watched a livestream. 'This morning was a joyous and peaceful occasion with the most beautiful sunrise," said Richard Dewdney, head of operations at Stonehenge. 'It is fantastic to see Stonehenge continuing to enchant and connect people.' Stonehenge was built in stages 5,000 years ago on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain approximately 75 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of London. The unique stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period about 2,500 B.C. Some of the so-called bluestones are known to have come from the Preseli Hills in southwest Wales, nearly 150 miles (240 kilometers) away, and the altar stone was recently discovered to have come from northern Scotland, some 460 miles (740 kilometers) away. The site's meaning has been vigorously debated. Theories range from it being a coronation place for Danish kings, a druid temple, a cult center for healing, or an astronomical computer for predicting eclipses and solar events. The most generally accepted interpretation is that it was a temple aligned with movements of the sun — lining up perfectly with the summer and winter solstices.