June’s Full Strawberry Moon got its name because the Algonquin tribes knew it as a signal to gather ripening fruit. It was often known as the Full Rose Moon in Europe and the Honey Moon.

 This evening brings us the June full moon. And because strawberries are the first fruit after rhubarb to ripen in late spring and early summer — and the peak season (some might call it the "more natural" season) for picking strawberries is June — the traditional moniker for the June moon is Strawberry Moon.

There is another name that we could assign to tonight's full moon: "minimoon." That’s because this month's full moon will be the smallest in 2017. We're all, of course, familiar with the branding of supermoon, when the full moon coincides (or very nearly so) with perigee — that point in the moon's orbit when it is closest to Earth. On such occasions, the moon appears somewhat larger than normal because of its closeness to Earth.

And when the moon "officially" turns full, it will not even be visible at that time across the contiguous United States, since it will have already set some hours before. Indeed, when you gaze up at the moon tonight it will not be "full," but 99.5-percent of full — a waning gibbous moon.

But one thing to remember: Unless you know in advance that the moon is either farther or closer than average, you really won't notice the change in size all that much (often said to be as much as 14 percent, but actually is closer to 12 percent).

Even if you don't immediately notice the moon being unusually small on Friday, one thing you will immediately notice is the bright planet nearby: the "ringed wonder" of the solar system, Saturn.


Native American Names for June Moon Leaves Moon (Cree). Ripe Berries (Dakota). Hoer moon (Abernaki). Windy Moon (Choctaw). Summer moon (Kiowa). Buffalo Moon (Omaha). Leaf Moon (Assiniboine). Corn Tassel Moon(Taos). Green grass Moon(Sioux). Ripening Moon (Mohawk). Turtle Moon (Potawatomi). Making fat Moon (Lakota).Leaf Dark Moon (San Juan). Major Planting Moon (Hopi). Planting Moon (Neo Pagan). Fish Spoils Moon (Wishram). Water melon Moon (Natchez). Hot Weather moon (Arapaho). Dyad Moon (Medieval English). Strawberry Moon (Anishnaabe). Dark green leaves Moon (Pueblo). Summer Moon (Passamaquoddy). Green Corn Moon, Flower Moon (Cherokee). Mead Moon (Full Janic), Strawberry moon (Dark Janic). Honey Moon, Hot Moon, Strawberry Moon, Rose Moon (Algonquin).
Other Moon names : Hay Moon, Aerra Litha Moon, Strong Sun Moon, Lovers Moon Hot weather moon (Ponca).