Top line
The strawberry full moon will become full on Monday, June 29, 2026. Named for the traditional strawberry harvest in parts of North America in June, this full moon is notable for three reasons: it is the first full moon of the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it will hang lower in the sky than any other full moon of 2026, and the longest full moon of 2026. As with any full moon, the exact moment of peak illumination is not the best time to observe it. The best views will come at moonrise, when the Strawberry Moon appears low on the southeastern horizon at dusk.
A full “Strawberry Moon” rises behind the lights of Boston late Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in Winthrop, Mass. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Key Facts
The Strawberry Moon reaches its exact full phase at 7:58 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 29, 2026, while it is still below the horizon as seen from North America.
This full moon occurs just one day after apogee, the point in the Moon’s 29-day orbit when it is farthest from Earth. Full moons that coincide with apogee are known as micromoons—the opposite of a supermoon—and appear about 12-14% smaller and dimmer than average.
June’s full moon is traditionally known as the Strawberry Moon, a name associated with seasonal harvests rather than the color of the moon. Other names include the Berries Ripen Moon, the Green Corn Moon and the Hot Moon, according to TimeAndDate.com.
The best time to see the sunrise of the full “strawberry” moon.
The best night to watch the Strawberry Moon rise will be Monday, June 29, 2026 – the night of the full moon – the exact time of moonrise where you are. To see the full moon at its best, find an elevated location, an open field, or a coastline with a clear view of the southeastern horizon. Moonrise will occur across North America at blue hour, when the sky darkens but still retains color — perfect timing.
- New York: sunset at 8:31 p.m. EDT, moonrise at 8:48 p.m. EDT.
- Los Angeles: sunset at 8:08 p.m. PDT, moonrise at 8:26 p.m. PDT.
The night before, the moon rises before sunset, while the sky is still very bright. The next night, it rises much later, when the sky is already dark.
A Low Full Moon
June’s Strawberry Moon is the lowest full moon of 2026 in the northern hemisphere because of how the full moon mirrors the sun’s position in the sky. The full moon is always opposite the sun, by default. With the summer solstice occurring a few days earlier on June 21, the sun is almost at its highest and longest diurnal arc in the sky. As a result, the full moon traces the lowest possible arc, rises and sets far to the southeast and southwest, and never climbs very high.
Practically speaking, this means that the Strawberry Moon stays close to the horizon for much of the night. Seen through a thicker layer of Earth’s atmosphere, it often takes on warm yellow or orange tones—and this geometry sets the stage for one of the most famous optical tricks in astronomy.
The Moon Illusion
Despite being the second smallest full moon of the year, the Strawberry Moon will appear huge at moonrise due to the moon illusion. According to NASAit is a psychological effect in which the moon appears much larger when it is near the horizon than when it is high, even though its actual size and distance have not changed. Scientists believe the effect is caused by how the human brain interprets distance and scale. When the moon is low in the sky, nearby objects such as buildings, trees, and mountains provide visual context, making the moon appear larger. When the moon is high up, without reference points, it appears smaller by comparison.
This illusion is strongest during moonrise and moonset, and is enhanced when a full moon is unusually low, as the full moon does. Understanding this helps explain why the Strawberry Moon can appear huge and dramatic—even though, astronomically speaking, it’s actually a micromoon.
Background
The Strawberry Moon is the seventh of 13 full moons in 2026, a year that includes an extra full moon because the lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. Of those full moons, three are supermoons — on Jan. 3, Nov. 24, and Dec. 24 — when the moon is near perigee and appears larger than average. In contrast, June’s Strawberry Moon represents the opposite extreme: the ultimate micromoon of 2026. The next full moon after that will be the Buck Moon on July 29, 2026, which begins a run of higher, brighter summer full moons.
