When to see the Strawberry Moon in June

The flag on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill is silhouetted in front of the full moon, known in June as the strawberry moon, in Ottawa, on Saturday, June 3, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)

A Strawberry Moon will illuminate the night sky this month.

That’s the name given to the full moon that occurs every June. This year it will reach peak illumination at 3:44 a.m. EDT on June 11.

If skies are clear, a great time to see the Strawberry Moon will be when it rises on June 10, which will happen around 10:34 p.m. local time in Vancouver, 11:09 p.m. in Calgary, 10:50 p.m. in Winnipeg, 10 p.m. in Toronto and 9:59 p.m. in Halifax, according to timeanddate.com.

The moon will rise after dusk in the southeast and remain low in the southern sky before setting in the southwest around dawn. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be the lowest full moon of the year and appear large and dramatic near the southern horizon.

But if you were hoping to see a bright red moon in the sky, the Strawberry Moon doesn’t get its name from its hue. The term actually comes from Indigenous tradition, since June is typically the time when wild strawberries ripen and are harvested in the northeastern parts of Canada and the U.S.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, other traditional names for the June full moon include Berries Ripen Moon, Blooming Moon, Green Corn Moon and Honey Moon.