Stunning photos show the rare strawberry full moon lighting up the sky
June's one full moon — the so-called strawberry moon — dazzled the night sky Tuesday into Wednesday.
Photos show the low-hanging reddish moon low in the sky in places including New York City, Greece, Germany, Malta, China and Britain.
Last night's moon reached its lowest point in the sky in nearly two decades — and the lowest it'll be until 2043, due to what's called a 'major lunar standstill.' The phenomenon, which occurs every 18.6 years, happens when the moon reaches its furthest northern and southern points in the sky. The last major lunar standstill was in 2006.
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The term 'strawberry moon' came from the Native American Algonquian tribes because this moon takes place during the time of year when strawberries are ripe and ready for harvest. Despite the moon having a reddish hue while it nears the horizon, the moon's nickname isn't a specific reference to its color.
'The origin of the name 'Strawberry Moon' has nothing to do with the Moon's hue or experience,' according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. 'A Moon usually appears reddish when it's close to the horizon because the light rays must pass through the densest layers of the atmosphere.'
The nickname given to June's full moon varies based on tribes. The Haida people, an Indigenous group in the Pacific Northwest, refer to it as the 'berries ripen moon,' while the Muscogee call it the 'blackberry moon' and the Shawnee tribe know it as the 'raspberry moon."
The strawberry moon rises in the sky behind the 5th century B.C. Parthenon temple at the ancient Acropolis hill, in Athens, on Tuesday. (Petros Giannakouris/AP)
The moon can be seen over the Schluchsee in Baden-Württemberg, Schluchsee, Germany on Tuesday. (Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The strawberry moon rises behind the steeple of St Paul's Anglican Cathedral and the dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Valletta, as seen from Sliema, Malta, on Tuesday. (Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters)
A full moon shines over the Nanshan Tree Viewing Platform on Tuesday in Chongqing, China. (Zhou Zhiyong/VCG via Getty Images)
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A person watches the strawberry moon rise, as seen from Hampstead Heath, in London, on Tuesday. (Peter Cziborra/Reuters)
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