Look up tonight! Wednesday's full moon in Indiana will be the lowest in 20 years
Avid skywatchers can also spot the Milky Way, the "bright central bulge of our galaxy," writes NASA, which should be visible through August.
Here's what skywatchers should know.
Tuesday, June 10, 2025, into Wednesday early morning hours is when the sweet Strawberry Moon was at its fullest, but it'll still appear mostly full Wednesday night. The moon's phases in June are:
🌓 First Quarter: June 3.
🌕 Full Moon: June 11.
🌗 Last Quarter: June 18.
🌑 New Moon: June 25.
June's Strawberry moon will be the lowest full moon in roughly 20 years, so look closer toward the horizon. Experts say the moon's low arc should give it a more yellowish or orange tint.
Story continues after photo gallery.
The reason the moon will appear lower is because the Earth is in the midst of "a major lunar standstill," writes EarthSky, which has to do with the moon's orbit around the Earth.
"It's all about the inclination of the moon's orbit, which undergoes an 18.6-year cycle," writes EarthSky's John Jardine Goss. "The cycle happens because the moon's orbit is being slowly dragged around — mostly due to the pull of the sun — every 18.6 years."
The last major lunar standstill occurred in 2006.
More about June 2025's full moon: It's been years since you've seen one that looks like this.
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, moonrise for the Indianapolis area will happen by roughly 10:09 p.m. Wednesday, June 11, crossing the meridian at 1:38 a.m. before setting at 6:01 a.m. Thursday.
You can check moonrise and moonset times for your zip code by visiting the Old Farmer's Almanac online.
Skies around Central Indiana are expected to be partly cloudy Wednesday night, June 11, with a low of around 64, according to an advanced forecast from the National Weather Service.
Similar to the Pink Moon, June's Strawberry Moon takes its name from seasonal plant growth, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Many ripening berries were ready to be harvested around this time in the northeastern United States.
Other names for June's full moon from Native American tribes include the Birth Moon, Hot Moon, Blooming Moon, and the Green Corn Moon.
The Milky Way can best be viewed somewhere far away from bright city lights. Find a dark, safe spot out in the country where you can see more stars in the sky.
If possible, head to Beverly Shores, near Gary, which is an International Dark Sky location and therefore an excellent place for stargazing. You can also travel to Kemil Beach at Indiana Dunes State Park and Dr. T.K. Lawless County Park in Michigan, which also are designated dark sky locations, according to DarkSky International.
According to NASA, traces of the Milky Way will appear as a "faint, cloud-like band arching across the sky toward the south."
If you plan on observing the night sky this month, writes NASA, keep the following dates in mind for June 2025:
June 16, 17 – Mars & Regulus – Mars passes closer to the bright bluish-white star Regulus, known as the "heart" of the lion constellation, Leo. They will appear about as far apart as the width of the full moon, and should be easy to spot with binoculars or a small telescope.
June 19 – Moon & Saturn – The third-quarter moon appears right next to Saturn on Thursday morning in the hours before dawn, according to NASA. They rise in the east together at around 1:30 a.m.
June 20 – June Solstice – The summer solstice is on June 20 in the northern hemisphere, tilting its maximum toward the Sun. This means the Sun will travel its longest, highest arc across the sky all year, writes NASA, resulting in the longest period of daylight for those north of the equator.
June 21-30 – Mercury becomes visible – For those with a clear view to the western horizon, Mercury becomes visible for a brief period each evening at the end of June. Look for it to appear low in the sky starting 30 to 45 minutes after the Sun sets.
June 22 – Moon & Venus – Venus rises this morning next to a slender and elegant crescent moon. Look for them in the east between about 3 a.m. and sunrise.
All month – Mars: The Red Planet can be observed for a couple of hours after dark all month. It is noticeably dimmer than it appeared in early May, as Earth speeds away in its orbit, putting greater distance between the two worlds.
All month – Milky Way core: The bright central bulge of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is visible all night through August. It is best observed from dark sky locations far from bright city lights, and appears as a faint, cloud-like band arching across the sky toward the south.
The following free astronomy apps can help you locate stars, planets, and constellations.
SkyView Lite for iPhone | Google Play
Star Walk 2 for iPhone | Google Play
Star Chart for iPhone | Google Play
for iPhone | Google Play
The full Buck Moon should reach peak illumination by Thursday, July 10, 2025.
When is the next full moon?: When every full moon shines in 2025. Dates, times and the history behind each name.
John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: The Strawberry full moon shines low tonight. How to see it in Indiana
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bid to relocate US Space Shuttle Discovery faces museum pushback
Tucked inside President Donald Trump's flagship tax and spending bill last month was a little-noticed provision to relocate the iconic Space Shuttle Discovery from a museum outside Washington to Houston. The plan now faces legal uncertainty, with the Smithsonian Institution arguing Congress had no authority to give away what it considers private property -- even before accounting for the steep logistical and financial challenges. "The Smithsonian Institution owns the Discovery and holds it in trust for the American public," the museum network, which receives substantial federal funding yet remains an independent entity, said in a statement to AFP on Friday. "In 2012, NASA transferred 'all rights, title, interest and ownership' of the shuttle to the Smithsonian," the statement continued, calling Discovery one of the museum's "centerpieces" that welcomes millions of visitors a year. The push to move Discovery from the Air and Space Museum's site in northern Virginia began in April, when Texas Senator John Cornyn, a Republican who faces a tough primary challenge next year by state attorney general Ken Paxton, introduced the "Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act," naming Discovery. The legislation stalled until it was folded into the mammoth "Big Beautiful Bill," signed into law on July 4. Its passage allocated $85 million for the move, though the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has projected a far higher cost of $325 million, adding that the NASA administrator's power over non-NASA entities is "unclear." To comply with Senate rules, the bill's language was modified such that Discovery is no longer named directly. Instead, the bill refers to a "space vehicle," though there is little doubt as to the target. NASA's administrator -- currently Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, serving in an acting capacity -- was given 30 days to identify which spacecraft is to be relocated, a deadline coming up on Sunday. - End of an era - NASA's Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, after a 30-year run that carried America's post-Apollo space ambitions. The four surviving orbiters -- Atlantis, Endeavour, prototype Enterprise, and Discovery -- were awarded to Florida, California, New York, and Virginia through a ranked selection process. Discovery, the most flown, was chosen as a vehicle-of-record in a near-complete state, intended for study by future generations. "There was not a lot of support within Houston to want a shuttle," space historian Robert Pearlman told AFP, adding that a proposal to house it at Space Center Houston was relatively weak. But after the announcement, Texas -- home to the Johnson Space Center, which oversees NASA's human spaceflight -- felt snubbed, and allegations of political interference by then-president Barack Obama swirled. A NASA inspector general probe found no evidence of foul play. - Enormous challenges - Relocating Discovery now would pose major technical hurdles. NASA had modified two Boeing 747s to ferry retired shuttles -- one is now a museum piece, and the other is out of service. That leaves land and water transport. "The nearest water entrance to the Potomac River is about 30 miles away," Pearlman said -- but it may be too shallow for the orbiter and required barge, requiring a 100-mile journey instead. A water transport would require a massive enclosed barge, he added. The US government owns only one such vessel, controlled by the military. Loaning it to a civilian agency would require another act of Congress, and the alternative would involve building one from scratch. Dennis Jenkins, a former shuttle engineer who oversaw the delivery of retired orbiters to their new homes, told the Collect Space outlet he could see costs reach a billion dollars. Nicholas O'Donnell, an attorney at Sullivan & Worcester with expertise in art and museum law, told AFP that assuming Smithsonian has valid paperwork, "I don't think Secretary Duffy or anyone in the federal government has any more authority to order the move of Discovery than you or I do." The government could invoke eminent domain -- seizing private property for public use -- but it would have to pay fair market value or try to sue. The Smithsonian is unlikely to want a court battle, and while it's legally independent, its financial reliance on federal funds leaves it politically vulnerable, said O'Donnell. ia/jgc
Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
'Eclipse of the century': Lengthy 6-minute solar eclipse is coming Aug. 2, 2027
No, the world will not go dark this weekend. Rumors about a lengthy total solar eclipse may have been circulating online, but the so-called "eclipse of the century" isn't for another two years. A total solar eclipse lasting up to 6 minutes and 23 seconds, at its peak, is expected to occur on Aug. 2, 2027, according to NASA. The total solar eclipse, in which the moon moves perfectly between the sun and Earth and casts a shadow on Earth, will be one of the longest in several decades. For a time comparison, the total solar eclipse that occured on April 8, 2024, lasted 4 minutes and 28 seconds at its peak. The solar eclipse of 1991, however, lasted 6 minutes and 53 seconds. reports the Aug. 2, 2027 eclipse will be the longest eclipse totality until 2114. The eclipse will be visible in parts of Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Unfortunately for American skywatchers, the vast majority of the U.S. won't have a view of it. The Aug. 2, 2027 solar eclipse isn't actually the next total solar eclipse though. That one, on Aug. 12, 2026, will be visible in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and parts of Portugal, according to NASA. Here's what to know about the solar eclipse on Aug. 2, 2027. The solar eclipse's path of totality will cross over parts of Africa, Europe and the Middle East, according to National Eclipse and NASA. Parts of the following countries are within the path of totality. Other countries in Africa, Europe and the Middle East will have a partial view of the eclipse. A partial solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Maine between 5:14 and 5:19 a.m. ET on Aug. 2, 2027, according to Time and Date.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
The meteor shower trio continues in our night skies
What's better than one meteor shower? Three of them sending streaks of light across the night sky at the same time! Each year, during the month of July, our planet Earth plunges into three separate streams of comet debris, each composed of ice and dust that orbits around the Sun. As we fly through these streams, the atmosphere sweeps up the tiny meteoroids directly in our path, which flash by overhead, producing a spectacular trio of overlapping meteor showers. The first of these, the alpha Capricornids, originates from a comet known as 169P/NEAT. Although the meteor shower has been observed for a very long time, its parent body was not discovered until 2005. Originally thought to be an asteroid, further observations revealed weak comet activity when it neared the Sun. We begin to see meteors from the alpha Capricornids in early July each year, radiating out from the constellation Capricornus, in the southern sky. This shower often goes unmentioned and unnoticed, though, as it produces just a handful of meteors each night from early July through mid-August. The radiant of the alpha Capricornids, on the night of the meteor shower's peak, on July 31-August 1. The First Quarter Moon will be in the western sky, setting around midnight. (Scott Sutherland/Stellarium/NASA's Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio) However, despite their rarity, alpha Capricornids tend to be fairly bright, and can even include a few fireballs — exceptionally bright meteors that are easily visible for hundreds of kilometres around on clear nights, even for observers trapped under heavily light-polluted skies. The Perseids are the second of this trio to start. Originating from a comet called 109P/Swift–Tuttle, due to the angle of the meteoroids as they enter the atmosphere, the meteors appear from the direction of the constellation Perseus, in the northern sky. The radiant of the Perseids (the point in the sky the shower appears to originate from) is located in the northeastern sky each night from mid-July through late August. The view in this simulation depicts the night of the peak, on August 12-13, 2025. The phase of the Moon (Waning Gibbous) is shown in the top right corner. (Simulation courtesy Stellarium. Moon phase from NASA's Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio) The third is the Southern delta Aquariids. Although we don't know for sure, this shower appears to come from an oddball comet called 96P/Machholz. The odd thing about this object is that it's apparently unlike any other comet in our solar system, with a unique orbit and chemical composition. It's even possible that it's an alien comet that was long ago captured by our Sun's gravity as it wandered through interstellar space. The meteors from Comet Machholz's debris stream can be traced back to the constellation Aquarius, in the southern sky. Also, due to the specific angle of the comet's path through the solar system, it produces a slightly better show in the southern hemisphere than the north. However, here in Canada, we can still see a decent number of meteors from it, if we know when to look. The radiant of the delta Aquariids is located in the southern sky each night from mid-July through early August. The view in this simulation depicts the night of the peak, on July 30, 2025, although the delta Aquariids peak between the 29th and 31st. The July 30 phase of the Moon (Waxing Crescent) is shown in the top right corner. (Simulation courtesy Stellarium. Moon phase from NASA's Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio) READ MORE: All three of these meteors showers began slowly, producing just a few meteors at their start — the alpha Capricornids in early July, and the Perseids and delta Aquariids around the middle of the month. The end of July was the best time to view the trio. Based on their typical behaviour, by the last few nights of the month, around 20 Perseid meteors per hour would have been streaking out of the northeast, crisscrossing with about 20 delta Aquariids per hour from the southeast. On the night of the 31st, the alpha Capricornids would have added up to 5 more per hour to the overlapping display. With the timing of the Moon's phases, the nights of the 29th, 30th, and 31st were the best time to go out and spot these meteors. This is because the Moon was off in the west throughout the evening and set by midnight. That left the rest of the night with a dark sky for picking out those brief flashes of light overhead. This wider simulation of the eastern sky, on the night of July 31-August 1, 2025, shows the radiants of the Perseid, delta Aquariid, and alpha Capricornid meteor showers in their respective spots. The First Quarter Moon is setting on the western horizon at this time, out of view of the observer. (Scott Sutherland/Stellarium) DON'T MISS: August Update Now that we're into August, the number of Perseid meteors will continue to rise up until the night of the 12th. At the same time, the number of delta Aquariids and alpha Capricornids will ramp down significantly. Thus, total meteor numbers will remain fairly constant over the next week or so, but will more heavily favour the Perseids out of the northeast. There's one caveat to this, though. During the first two weeks of August, the Moon will be casting off quite a bit of light as it passes through its brightest phases — Waxing Gibbous from the 2nd to the 7th, the Full Sturgeon Moon on the 8th-9th, and Waning Gibbous from the 9th to the 14th. The phases of the Moon from July 27 through August 16 reveal why sky conditions may be best for this meteor shower trio at the end of July. (Scott Sutherland/NASA's Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio) Having a dark sky is important for meteor watching, for two reasons: our eyes need to fully adapt to the dark to become sensitive enough to pick up the faintest flashes of light, and the contrast of the mostly-black background of space helps us in spotting the brief meteor streaks. Bright moonlight acts in exactly the same way as urban light pollution, especially on humid summer nights, when the added water vapour in the air easily refracts that moonlight into our eyes. The sky becomes 'washed out', with only the brighest stars remaining visible, and similarly only the brighest meteors tend to be able to pierce that 'veil' of light. Normally, as the Perseids reach their peak on the night of the 12th, observers under clear dark skies have a chance to spot up to 75-100 meteors every hour. This year, we will likely see closer to 40-50 per hour. Weather conditions could reduce that even further. Fortunately, the Perseids are well-known for producing the greatest number of fireballs! Watch below: Perseid fireball captured by NASA all-sky camera Click here to view the video After the peak of the Perseids, we can still spot meteors from the shower as it ramps down, right up until August 24. So, watch for clear skies in your forecast and keep an eye out for meteors and fireballs flashing through the night. (Editor's note: This article has gone through a significant update to include additional information regarding the alpha Capricornids meteor shower and how it will add to the show produced by the Perseids and delta Aquariids.) Thumbnail image produced using the open-source planetarium software, Stellarium. Watch below: What do we know about Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS? Click here to view the video Solve the daily Crossword
