Strawberry Moon, Blue Moon & Micromoon

About Strawberry Moon

• Meaning: The Strawberry Moon is the traditional name given to the full moon that occurs in June.
• Naming: Its name comes from Native American Algonquian tribes, who used it to track the ripening and harvesting season of wild strawberries.
• Alternative Names: It is also referred to as the Hot Moon, Mead Moon, or Rose Moon in other cultures.
• Position: It rises in the southeastern sky and follows the lowest path across the southern sky.
• Atmospheric Physics: As the Strawberry Moon stays low above the horizon, its light passes through more of Earth’s atmosphere, where shorter blue wavelengths are scattered, giving the Moon a warm golden or orange glow.
• Moon Illusion: It often appears abnormally large when close to the horizon due to the Moon Illusion (an optical illusion that makes the Moon appear larger against nearby objects).

About Blue Moon

• Meaning: A Blue Moon is identified by the timing of full moons rather than its colour.
• Types: Blue Moons are of two types.
  • A monthly Blue Moon is the second full moon in a calendar month.
  • A seasonal Blue Moon is the third full moon in an astronomical season that has four full moons instead of the usual three.
• Visual Effect: The Moon does not turn blue, although smoke or volcanic ash can sometimes make it appear bluish.
• Frequency: Because the lunar cycle lasts about 29.5 days and does not align perfectly with calendar months, both monthly and seasonal Blue Moons occur every two to three years.

About Micromoon

• Meaning: A Micromoon occurs when a full moon coincides with apogee, the Moon’s farthest point from Earth.
  • By contrast, a full moon at perigee, the moon’s closest point to Earth in its orbit, is what’s known as a “supermoon.”
• Cause: It occurs because the Moon follows an elliptical orbit around Earth.
• Visual Effect: It appears roughly 14% smaller and 30% dimmer than a Supermoon.