This month’s full Moon follows a rare “major lunar standstill” – making it the lowest full Moon since 2006
The Strawberry Moon will rise next week, but Brits might notice something unusual about June’s full Moon.
A full Moon happens when the Earth-facing lunar surface is fully illuminated by the Sun. This happens roughly every 29.5 days, which is the length of time it takes for the Moon to go through one whole lunar phase cycle.
The first full Moon of meteorological summer, known as the ‘Strawberry Moon’, will light up the skies on June 11.
However, it will be in an odd place in UK skies thanks to a recent phenomenon called a “major lunar standstill”.
The full Strawberry Moon will be very low in the southern sky, making it the lowest Moon in its 18.6-year lunar cycle.
The last time the full Moon sat this low in the sky was more than 18 years ago, in 2006, won’t happen again until 2043.
Why is Strawberry Moon unusual – and will it look different?
Across the Moon’s nearly 20-year-long cycle, our lunar companion follows a unique, tilted orbit around Earth.
As a result, it has events called major and minor lunar standstills, when the Moon rises and sets and its most extreme points on the horizon and appears unusually low or high in the sky.
The Strawberry Moon will rise just 10 days before summer solstice on June 21. According to NASA, Moons also always appear lower in the sky around the summer solstice. It said: “On the summer solstice the sun appears highest in the sky for the year. Full moons are opposite the sun, so a full moon near the summer solstice will be low in the sky.”
Not only will the Moon sit low in the sky, but it will also appear bigger than usual, according to BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
The Moon will appear bigger than it really is because it is near the horizon, which makes people perceive it as larger.
Best time to see ‘Strawberry Moon’ in UK
The Moon will reach its full phase at 8.44am BST. With sunrise at around 4.45am on June 11, it will already be light when it reaches its full lunar phase.
The best time to see the Strawberry Moon will be at dusk on Tuesday, June 10, and the Moon will appear full throughout the night.
Why is it called the ‘Strawberry Moon’?
Each month has a special nickname for its full Moon. For instance, January’s full Moon is known as the ‘Wolf Moon’, and February’s full moon is called the ‘Snow Moon’.
While it won’t appear strawberry-red, the Moon is named after the wild strawberries that start to ripen during early summer, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.
Other names for this Full Moon are Rose Moon, Hot Moon, and Mead Moon.
Below is the full Moon schedule for 2025, as well as the name given to each one:
- Monday, January 13 – Wolf Moon
- Wednesday, February 12 – Snow Moon
- Friday, March 14 – Worm Moon
- Saturday, April 12 – Pink Moon (Micromoon)
- Monday, May 12 – Flower Moon (Micromoon)
- Wednesday, June 11 – Strawberry Moon
- Thursday, July 10 – Buck Moon
- Saturday, August 9 – Sturgeon Moon
- Sunday, September 7 – Corn Moon
- Monday, October 6 – Hunter’s Moon (Supermoon)
- Wednesday, November 5 – Beaver Moon (Supermoon)
- Thursday, December 4 – Cold Moon (Supermoon)