The Strawberry Moon is the traditional name for the full moon occurring in June. This annual event often generates excitement, fueled by the colorful imagery the name suggests. Many people anticipate a celestial display matching the fruit’s rosy hue, leading to questions about its actual appearance. The name itself does not guarantee a pink spectacle in the night sky.
Why It Is Not Pink
The Strawberry Moon is not typically pink, as the name is purely cultural and agricultural, not a description of the moon’s hue. The moon’s inherent color is a neutral gray, resulting from sunlight reflecting off its rocky, airless surface.
When viewed high in the sky, the full moon in June will appear the same as any other full moon. The expectation of a strawberry-pink glow is a simple misunderstanding of the name’s origin, often stemming from confusion with the “Pink Moon” of April, which is named for the flowering ground phlox, not the moon’s color.
The Origin of the Strawberry Name
The name “Strawberry Moon” originates from the naming conventions of North American Indigenous tribes, including the Algonquin, Ojibwe, and Dakota. These cultural names served a practical purpose, marking the seasons based on natural events. The June full moon signaled the relatively short period when wild strawberries ripened and were ready to be gathered in the northeastern part of the continent.
The full moon names were later popularized for a wider audience when the Maine Farmers’ Almanac began publishing them in the 1930s. Other tribes had different, but equally seasonal, names for the June full moon, such as the Green Corn Moon or the Birth Moon. This cultural context confirms that the name refers to the harvest time, not a specific color.
What Color Does the June Full Moon Actually Appear
The June full moon often appears yellow, orange, or reddish, especially when near the horizon. This phenomenon has a scientific explanation related to the moon’s low position in the sky during Northern Hemisphere summers. Because the June full moon follows a low arc across the sky, its light must travel through a significantly thicker layer of the Earth’s atmosphere.
This increased atmospheric depth causes scattering, which affects how we perceive the moonlight. Shorter wavelengths of light, like blue and violet, are scattered away by air molecules. Longer wavelengths, such as red, orange, and yellow, penetrate the atmosphere more effectively, giving the moon its warmer tint. This effect is identical to the one that makes the sun appear red or orange at sunrise and sunset.