June not only brings with it the official start of summer – the sun reaches its highest point in the sky at 4:42 am on June 21 – but also a very special full moon. It is known as the “strawberry moon”, which has less to do with its color than many believe, but with its origin: the term goes back to the Algonquins, an indigenous people of North America who harvested strawberries at the time of this moon.
In this country, it is also known as the “rose moon”, in keeping with the main flowering season of roses. But regardless of the name, it’s worth taking a closer look this year: On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, June 11, the full moon will rise particularly low over Hamburg at exactly 22:09 – the lowest it has been since 2007. And anyone who misses this spectacle will have to wait a long time: The next opportunity will not come until 2043. Find out here when and where you can best observe the strawberry moon in the Hanseatic city.
Why the moon is so low – and what’s behind it
An exceptionally low full moon is coming up – an event that only occurs every 18.6 years or so. This is due to an astronomical cycle known as the “great lunar standstill”. During this phase, the moon’s orbit is particularly flat in relation to the horizon line, making it appear unusually low for observers in the northern hemisphere. This not only makes it appear larger, but often also more intensely colored.
In the southern hemisphere, by the way, the effect is exactly the opposite: there, the moon reaches its highest position in this cycle – and is expected to do so until 2043, according to several specialist sources. NASA attributes the phenomenon to the so-called ecliptic precession – a slow change in the moon’s apparent orbit caused by the interplay of the inclined rotational axes of the earth and moon.
How does the Strawberry Moon affect us?
The so-called Strawberry Moon can occasionally appear strikingly large and in warm red tones – a spectacle that is not guaranteed with every sighting, however. It looks particularly impressive when it appears close to the horizon. The reason for this lies in the Earth’s atmosphere: the light reflected by the moon has to travel a longer distance through the layers of air when it is low. On this path, short-wave (bluish) light is scattered more than long-wave (reddish) light. As a result, the blue increasingly disappears, while warm colors dominate – and the moon shines in a reddish glow.
Why does it sometimes appear larger than usual? This optical illusion is puzzling. One common explanation assumes that our brain compares the moon on the horizon with familiar objects on earth, such as houses or trees. In relation to these, it appears larger than when it is high in the sky.
Where you can see the moon best in Hamburg
According to current calculations, the so-called Strawberry Moon will show its full roundness tonight at around 22:09. A few minutes later, at around 22:30, it will rise on the horizon. The outlook is good for skywatchers: The weather is cooperating. The German Weather Service is forecasting only scattered clouds and otherwise clear visibility – ideal conditions to experience this rare spectacle in the night sky in all its intensity.
For the perfect view of the strawberry moon, we recommend open-air locations – the Elbe beach with its wide view over the Elbe, the Alster meadows or the Landungsbrücken, for example, where you can enjoy the spectacle undisturbed. But you can also marvel at the natural phenomenon from the city’s rooftop terraces – even while enjoying a cool drink in a relaxed atmosphere. We’ll show you which rooftop spots are particularly worthwhile here!