Strawberry moon enchants Mecklenburg: An astronomical spectacle!

Strawberry moon enchants Mecklenburg: An astronomical spectacle!

On the night of June 10th to 11th, 2025, the sky over Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was transformed into a spectacular spectacle. The full moon, known as the Strawberry Moon, was visible in all its glory, particularly low on the horizon, giving it an impressive size. The moon's special position only occurs every 18.6 years; The next time this celestial event will be seen is in 2043, as nordkurier.de reports.

The term “strawberry moon” has roots in the culture of North American Native Americans, particularly the Algonquin tribes, and refers to the beginning of the strawberry harvest. In Europe, the full moon in June is also known as the “Rose Moon” or “Honey Moon”, as the website vollmond-info.de explains. It's a lovely play on words that captures the feeling of summer associated with this time.

A strawberry moon spectacle

Observations showed that the strawberry moon was not only clearly visible in Mecklenburg cities such as Grimmen and Ueckermünde, but could also be admired over the skyline of Frankfurt/Main and on the banks of the Elbe in Dresden. Many people sat down by the waters to capture the moment. A reader reported that she was able to take breathtaking photos on the beach in Ueckermünde, which shows that there was great enthusiasm for this natural phenomenon.

The strawberry moon appeared particularly red, which was enhanced by the “moon illusion effect”. In this astronomical anomaly, the moon is low in the sky and has to guide light along a longer path through the Earth's atmosphere. This causes the blue light to scatter more strongly and the red light to remain more visible. This phenomenon is a fascinating example of how our brain perceives optical illusions and that the monolithic photographs of the moon often do not reflect its true size, as tagesschau.de shows.

A year full of astronomical highlights

June 2025 is not only special for the strawberry moon, but also offers numerous other astronomical highlights. On June 1, Venus was visible at its greatest western elongation, followed by Mars conjunct Regulus on June 17. Saturn will also be visible with the Moon in the early morning hours of June 19th. On June 21st we experience the summer solstice, which marks the longest day of the year, and between June 22nd and July 2nd the June Bootids become active as a meteor shower, with a maximum of over 100 meteors per hour.

For those who want to enjoy the wonders of the sky, observing tips are essential: choose dark places to avoid light pollution, pay attention to timing, and perhaps use binoculars or telescopes. After all, the enjoyment of this beauty often depends on the weather.

The Strawberry Moon remains an impressive example of the fascination of astronomy and invites both amateur astronomers and the curious to look skyward and enjoy the impressive celestial events in June.