The full Strawberry Moon will turn full on Monday, June 29, 2026. Named for the traditional strawberry harvest in parts of North America in June, this full moon is notable for three reasons: it’s the first full moon of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it will hang lower in the sky than any other full moon of 2026, and it will be the second-smallest full moon of the year. As with every full moon, the exact moment of peak illumination is not the best time to observe it. The most beautiful views will come at moonrise, when the Strawberry Moon will appear low on the southeastern horizon during dusk.
A full "Strawberry Moon" rises behind the Boston Light, late Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in Winthrop, Mass. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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The Strawberry Moon reaches its exact full phase at 7:58 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 29, 2026, while it’s still below the horizon as seen from North America.
This full moon occurs just a day after apogee, the point in the moon’s 29-day orbit when it is farthest from Earth. Full moons that coincide with apogee are known as micromoons — the opposite of a supermoon — and appear about 12-14% smaller and dimmer than average.
June’s full moon is traditionally known as the Strawberry Moon, a name associated with seasonal harvests rather than the moon’s color. Other names include the Berries Ripen Moon, Green Corn Moon and Hot Moon, according to TimeAndDate.com.
The single best evening to watch the Strawberry Moon rise will be Monday, June 29, 2026 — the night of the full moon — at the exact time of moonrise where you are. To see the full moon at its best, find an elevated location, an open field or a coastline with a clear view of the southeastern horizon. Moonrise will take place across North America in blue hour, when the sky is darkening but still retains color — perfect timing.
The night before, the moon rises before sunset while the sky is still very bright. The night after, it rises much later, when the sky is already dark.
June’s Strawberry Moon is the lowest-hanging full moon of 2026 in the Northern Hemisphere because of how the full moon mirrors the sun’s position in the sky. A full moon is always opposite the sun, by definition. With the summer solstice occurring just days earlier on June 21, the sun is almost at its highest and longest daily arc across the sky. As a result, the full moon traces the lowest possible arc, rising and setting far to the southeast and southwest and never climbing very high.
In practical terms, that means the Strawberry Moon stays close to the horizon for much of the night. Seen through a thicker layer of Earth’s atmosphere, it often takes on warm yellow or orange tones — and this geometry sets the stage for one of the most famous visual tricks in astronomy.
Despite being the second-smallest full moon of the year, the Strawberry Moon will look enormous at moonrise because of the moon illusion. According to NASA, it’s a psychological effect in which the moon appears much larger when it’s near the horizon than when it’s high overhead, even though its actual size and distance haven’t changed. Scientists believe the effect is caused by how the human brain interprets distance and scale. When the moon is low in the sky, nearby objects such as buildings, trees and mountains provide visual context, making the moon seem larger. When the moon is high overhead, with no reference points, it appears smaller by comparison.
This illusion is strongest during moonrise and moonset, and it’s amplified when a full moon hangs unusually low, as June’s does. Understanding this helps explain why the Strawberry Moon can look massive and dramatic — even though, astronomically speaking, it’s actually a micromoon.
The Strawberry Moon is the seventh of 13 full moons in 2026, a year that includes an extra full moon because the lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. Of those full moons, three are supermoons — on Jan. 3, Nov. 24 and Dec. 24 — when the moon is near perigee and appears larger than average. By contrast, June’s Strawberry Moon represents the opposite extreme: the ultimate micromoon of 2026. The next full moon after this one will be the Buck Moon on July 29, 2026, which begins the run of higher, brighter summer full moons.
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