The Strawberry Moon in 2027: date, time and why it has that name
June's full Moon, the Strawberry Moon, is full on . The name marks the berry season; the Moon is not red.
Next three
The next three Strawberry Moon dates
- 401,943 km
- 383,565 km
- 373,263 km
The Strawberry Moon is the first full Moon of June by UTC date. In a time zone far ahead of or behind UTC, the date you see for it can fall in the next or previous month.
The name
Why it is called the Strawberry Moon
The Strawberry Moon is June's name in American almanacs, and it follows the fruit: wild strawberries ripen in June across the northeastern states, and the picking weeks gave the Moon its name. The color has nothing to do with it.
European lists use Rose Moon and Honey Moon for the same full Moon. The Anglo-Saxon month list calls June Fore Litha, the month before midsummer, and the modern revival list gives it the Moon of Horses.
- Usually in
- June
- Next full
- Distance then
- 401,943 km
- Supermoon then
- No
- Next three
- Jun 19, 2027 · Jun 7, 2028 · Jun 26, 2029
In the sky
How the Strawberry Moon looks
The Strawberry Moon is among the lowest full Moons of the year for anyone in the north. It sits opposite the Sun, and in June the Sun is at its highest, so the Moon follows the track the winter Sun would. At 40 degrees north it rises well south of east and peaks only about 27 degrees up, with roughly nine hours above the horizon.
Because it never climbs out of the thick air near the ground, this Moon often stays golden or orange all the way across. That is the strawberry glow people mean, and it comes from the air, not the Moon. It also looks swollen above a skyline, an illusion: against the horizon the disc is the same half degree it is overhead.
In the south June is the first month of winter, so strawberries are out of season, and the Moon is anything but low: it passes high in the northern sky, about 78 degrees up at 35 degrees south, with a long winter night to cross.
- Northern Hemisphere
- The Moon rises in the east near sunset
- Southern Hemisphere
- The same Moon, markings turned upside down
- Colour
- Gold near the horizon, white once it climbs
- Rises
- Around sunset
- Sets
- Around sunrise
Questions people ask
Quick answers
When is the next Strawberry Moon?
June 19, 2027 (UTC). The cards above show the next three, in your time zone.
Why is it called the Strawberry Moon?
The Strawberry Moon is June's name in American almanacs, and it follows the fruit: wild strawberries ripen in June across the northeastern states, and the picking weeks gave the Moon its name. The color has nothing to do with it.
Is the Strawberry Moon a supermoon?
Not the next one: the Moon is 401,943 km away, farther than 361,400 km. Some years it is.
Does the Strawberry Moon change colour?
The Moon only looks gold or orange when it is low and its light crosses a lot of air. Higher up it looks white.
Is this name the same everywhere?
No. These are the US almanac names. Other regions and traditions name the same full Moons differently, and the names are not one single tradition.