Why Strawberry Moon will appear more red than usual
The Strawberry Moon gets its name from the time when the berry is ripe for picking, but it also corresponds with the slight hue as the Moon is lower in the sky. Saharan dust and Canadian wildfire smoke could also enhance the reddish color of the Strawberry Moon on Tuesday evening.
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The Strawberry Moon will be fullest early Wednesday, but the evening before will be the best time to see the last full Moon of spring as it may appear more red than usual.
The Strawberry Moon gets its name from the time when the berry is ripe for picking, but it also corresponds with the slight hue as the Moon is lower in the sky during the evening hours. June's full Moon ushers in the best time of year for evening Moon-gazing.
Dr. Tyler Richey-Yowell, a postdoctoral fellow at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, said this is the first Moon to appear this low on the horizon in about a year.
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"When it spends more of that time in that lower portion of the sky, you're looking through more of Earth's atmosphere, which makes these moons generally look redder and more golden. And also, they appear bigger," Richey-Yowell said. "The atmosphere actually bends some of the light. And so while there's not really any astronomical significance to moons in the summer, we do actually get cooler, bigger, prettier moons in the summer."
The Strawberry Moon is being seen in Ungaran, Central Java Province, Indonesia, on June 21, 2024.
(WF Sihardian/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Smoke particles, Saharan dust could enhance Strawberry Moon's red color
This year, the Strawberry Moon may appear more berry-like with a hint of red and orange because of two ongoing weather events.
In the Southeast, Saharan dust crawling up the Southeast coast can also scatter light in a way that creates vibrant sunrises and sunsets, as well as a tint to the Moon.
If the dust is still in the atmosphere, the Moon will appear more red because of the dust, according to Richey-Yowell.
The Saharan dust layer seen by NOAA satellites over the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
(NOAA)
Meanwhile, in the North, wildfire smoke continues to waft into the northern Plains and Great Lakes regions from Canada. The smoke has reduced air quality, but if residents can see through the haze, these smoke particles scatter wavelengths of light differently, which can sometimes result in colorful red skies. Smoke particles tend to scatter more blue light than red light, leaving the remaining red light coming through. The same effect happens with the Moon.
For the Strawberry Moon on Wednesday, it will be at its biggest and brightest after midnight (Pacific time) and after 3 a.m. (Eastern time).
Next month, the full Buck Moon appears at its fullest just after 4 p.m. ET on July 11, which will make for a spectacular sunset and Moon.