Celebration of Space - June 26, 2026
The full Strawberry Moon of June will occur on Monday, June 29, 2026
This coming Monday, June 29, 2026 at 7:58 pm ET, the Moon will once again orbit into a position of alignment with the Earth and the Sun when it arrives on the opposite side of Earth than the Sun. This is the full lunar phase, which places the side of the Moon that we see into direct sunlight. The full Moon will rise with the setting Sun and set with the rising Sun on Monday. Like all full lunar phases, the June Moon has a common name that it goes by: The Full Strawberry Moon of June. The name is not derived from the color of the Moon, but instead from the strawberry harvest that occurs in June. As for the color of the Moon, the June Moon does have the potential to be the most colorful full Moon of the year, but this is due to the ecliptic (path the Sun takes across the sky, and the plane of the Solar System) being much lower in the sky around the Summer Solstice. The Moon orbits Earth within 5.1º of the ecliptic, and during June will be low enough for the effects of Rayleigh Scattering to become visible, which is when the blue light of the visible spectrum is scattered in Earth’s atmosphere. This is why the sky is blue during the day and also why the Moon and Sun can appear reddish when low on the horizon. The June Moon will often have a light yellow hue, almost like a white wine.
To catch a view of the Strawberry Moon rising, set out to a location with a good view of the southeast horizon and be there for 8:35 pm ET on the 29th. The Moon will rise around 8:46 pm. Also step outside again after 10:00 pm and see if you can detect any yellows in the color of the Moon. Other names that the June Moon go by, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, are the Blooming Moon, the Hoer Moon, the Egg Laying Moon, and the Honey Moon.
Over the past few days an extremely large sunspot group has emerged on the side of the Sun facing Earth. The group is designated AR4478, and is expected to produce several intense M and X class solar flares. These types of sunspot groups are of interest to those looking to catch sight of the Aurora Borealis. Intense solar flares, which produce Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) that are Earth-directed, are important for the formation of the Northern Lights. Though the intensity is not enough to bring excellent viewing as far south as Southern New England, but more so it’s about timing.
When an Earth-directed CME exits the solar corona it will take about 3 days for the geomagnetic component to reach Earth. When it does arrive it will pull Earth’s magnetic field in its wake – exposing the upper atmosphere, on the side of Earth facing the Sun, to the solar wind. Depending on how far the magnetic field drifts, could allow a significant amount of charged particles that exists in the solar wind to enter Earth’s atmosphere, but if there is another CME that is released shortly after the initial CME, and they are both Earth-directed, then the second CME could impact Earth before the magnetic field rebounds. This will allow a significantly higher amount of charged particles to enter Earth’s atmosphere. These are the type of events that can bring very bright Aurora to Southern New England and even much further south. As of today, there are no notable CMEs en route to Earth, but that could change at any time. Also, AR4478 is not fully Earth-facing yet, which means the best is yet to come. Over the next week we will get a good idea of how active the sunspot group will be and what to expect regarding sightings of the Northern Light.
Keep in mind that the media LOVES to hype any potential sighting of the Northern Lights. Be wary of any articles that have a greater than three (3) day forecast or carry images of vividly green Aurora dancing overhead, which is what you would see closer to the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. At Frosty Drew we will usually post a notification to our Instagram if we think the Northern Lights are going to be visible, as well as when we see them. So keep your fingers crossed!
