Overview
- The full Strawberry Moon reached peak illumination on Monday, June 29 at about 7:56–7:57 p.m. ET according to multiple observatories and timekeeping sites.
- The Moon was a micromoon because fullness occurred within roughly 36 hours of lunar apogee, making it slightly smaller and dimmer than average.
- Observers in the Northern Hemisphere saw the Moon follow an unusually low arc across the sky, which produced dramatic moonrise scenes and an exaggerated size effect known as the moon illusion.
- NASA and astronomers explained the warm orange or red tones as the result of Earth's atmosphere scattering shorter blue wavelengths and local haze, smoke, or pollution near the horizon rather than any intrinsic change in the Moon or an eclipse.
- Photographers worldwide captured striking low-horizon images and attention is turning to the next full moon on July 29 (the Buck Moon) and late-summer eclipse events in August.