By Gordon Johnston NASA Headquaters 6/12/2019
The Next Full Moon is the Strawberry Moon, Mead Moon, Honey Moon, Rose Moon or the LRO Moonhe next full Moon will be on Monday morning, June 17, 2019, appearing "opposite" the Sun (in Earth-based longitude) at 4:31 AM EDT. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Saturday night through Tuesday morning.
The Maine Farmer's Almanac first published Indian names for the full Moons in the 1930's. According to this almanac, the full Moon in June or the last full Moon of Spring is known as the Strawberry Moon, a name universal to just about every Algonquin tribe. The name comes from the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries in northeastern North America.
An old European name for this full Moon is the Mead Moon or the Honey Moon. Mead is a drink created by fermenting honey mixed with water, sometimes with fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The tradition of calling the first month of marriage the "honeymoon" dates back to at least the 1500's and may be tied to this full Moon, either because of the custom of marrying in June or because the "Honey Moon" is the "sweetest" Moon of the year. Some writings suggest that the time around the Summer solstice at the end of June was when honey was ripe and ready to be harvested from hives or from the wild, which made this the "sweetest" Moon. A recent article discredited the theory I have mentioned in previous years that the term "honeymoon" came from the custom of serving mead at the wedding and giving the couple enough honey wine to last their first month as newlyweds (I've not had time to look into this further).
Europeans also called this the Rose Moon. Some believe this name comes from the color of the full Moon at this time of year. The orbit of the Moon around the Earth is almost in the same plane as the orbit of the Earth around the Sun (only about 5 degrees off). When the Sun appears highest in the sky near the summer solstice, the full Moon opposite the Sun generally appears lowest in the sky. Particularly for Europe's higher latitudes, the full Moon nearest the summer solstice shines through more atmosphere than at other times of the year. This can give the full Moon a reddish or rose color (for much the same reasons that a rising or setting Sun appears red). For the Washington, DC area, on Monday, June 17, 2019, the highest the full Moon will reach in the sky will be only 29.1 degrees above the horizon (at 1:01 AM EDT), making this the lowest full Moon of the year.
Another tribe has also given this full Moon a name. This tribe is geographically scattered but mostly living in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. This tribe's language is primarily English, but with a liberal smattering of acronyms, arcane scientific and engineering terms, and Hawaiian phrases (cheerfully contributed by the Deputy Project Manager at the time). Comprised of people from all backgrounds, this tribe is devoted to the study of the Moon. This tribe calls June's full Moon the LRO Moon, in honor of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft they launched towards the Moon 10 years ago, on June 18, 2009.
In lunisolar calendars the months change with the new Moon and full Moons fall in the middle of the lunar months. This full Moon is the middle of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar and Sivan in the Hebrew calendar. In the Islamic calendar the months start with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon a few days after the New Moon. This full Moon is near the middle of ShawwÄl.
As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon.
Mark Your Calendars
As for other celestial events between now and the full Moon after next:
More:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/969/june-2019-the-next-full-moon-is-the-strawberry-moon/
