The full moon on June 14th, 2022 was not your typical full moon — it was the strawberry supermoon.
That doesn’t mean it was bright red, was shaped like the fruit or had Marvel superpowers. The name has everything to do with being at the right place at the right time.
Let’s start with the strawberry part. All full moons have nicknames. Ancient cultures gave the full moons names to track the months and season.
The most common names are English interpretations of Native American names. The June full moon is called the strawberry moon because it is the time of year when the fruit is ripe and ready to pick.
Here is a full list of the full moon names.
- January: wolf moon
- February: snow moon
- March: worm moon
- April: pink moon
- May: flower moon
- June: strawberry moon
- July: buck moon
- August: sturgeon moon
- September: corn moon
- October: hunter’s moon
- November: beaver moon
- December: cold moon
What about the super part? A supermoon occurs when the Moon’s orbit is closest to Earth at the same time the Moon is full.
The moment when the Moon is closest to the Earth is called a lunar perigee. During a supermoon, the Moon appears up to 14% larger and 30% brighter compared to when the Moon is furthest away.
If you missed it, don't worry! The buck supermoon will be here on July 13.
