The flower supermoon of May 6, 2020.
Stephen Shankland/CNET
What a year it’s been for moon viewing. After May’s “super flower blood moon” eclipse, we’re returning to a straight-up full moon today. It will be the last supermoon of 2021.
The June full moon is sometimes called the “strawberry moon,” according to the Farmer’s Almanac, which says the nickname is connected to strawberries ripening in certain parts of North America. It’s not a reference to the color of the moon.
“Supermoon” is a loose term. It’s used to describe when the full moon is at or near its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit around our planet. A supermoon can look slightly larger and brighter than a regular full moon.
“For 2021, some publications consider the four full Moons from March to June, some the three full Moons from April to June, and some only the two full Moons in April and May as supermoons,” NASA program executive Gordon Johnston said in April.
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The best part is that the full moon is lovely whether you call it a supermoon or not. Get outside and take a look, or tune into the Virtual Telescope Project’s livestream of the supermoon over Rome starting at noon PT on June 24.
Technically, the moon will be full at 11:40 a.m. PT on Thursday, June 24, but NASA says it’ll appear full from early Wednesday morning through early Saturday morning, so you can enjoy the view multiple times. Find the moonrise and moonset times for your location through timeanddate.com.
For an extra treat, grab a telescope or binoculars and get a little more up close and personal with the full moon’s scenic craters.
Follow CNET’s 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.