A ‘Strawberry’ Supermoon Will Be Visible Tonight Over Wyoming
The final Supermoon of 2021 will appear tonight over Wyoming. It's also known as a 'Strawberry Moon'. The moon will appear as such for the next few nights.
In case you're unaware of what exactly a 'Supermoon' is, it's when the moon will appear to be closer, larger, and brighter than what you might see on a typical night. Tonight's moon will appear 7 percent bigger and 15 percent brighter than an average night.
The 'Supermoon' phenomenon and label can be better explained in terms of how Christine Shupla, education and public engagement manager at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, says it:
The term 'supermoon' is much more recent and has come to be any full or new moon within 90% of its closest approach to Earth...By that definition, the full Moon on June 24 is also a supermoon, even though it is not as close as the full Moon was in May or April.
With a name such as a 'Strawberry Moon', if you're wondering if you will look up and the moon will be strawberry colored, then you will be sorely disappointed. The moon will appear to be its normal color. The 'strawberry' refers to this being roughly the time of year that strawberries are ripe for picking.
The moon will become completely full today at approximately 12:40 p.m. MST. Of course, it won't be visible in our time zone until about sunset which happens tonight at 8:35 p.m.
As for the remaining full moons in 2021, they are listed as follows along with their names:
- July 23rd - Buck Moon
- August 22nd - Sturgeon Moon
- September 20th - Harvest Moon
- October 20th - Hunter's Moon
- November 19th - Beaver Moon
- December 18th - Cold Moon
So on this cooler than recent night of nights, feel free to get a glimpse tonight of the 'Strawberry Moon' and final 'Supermoon' of 2021.