Witt’s End

Well, it’s time for the Strawberry Moon—always something to look forward to. It’s the last full moon of spring or the first full moon of summer. This year it’s the former since June 3 is the day. This full moon (as with others) has any number of names. In this case, because its appearance is close to when wild strawberries ripen, not because of its color. Other names for this moon include the Hot Moon and the Honey Moon, not to be confused with a hot honeymoon.

The moon will be positioned low in the sky, and have a warmer appearance. The reason being, the moon needs to be directly opposite the sun to be full, and at this time of the year, when we’re pointed at the sun, the atmosphere is carrying a lot of moisture and pollutants that enhance the colors. A cool piece of astro trivia is that it will appear at approximately the same point in the sky where the sun will be in six months, or where it was six months ago.

Luna will appear full between Friday, June 3, through Monday, June 6. Get out and enjoy. Through binoculars or a small telescope, it will be quite bright. It won’t hurt your eyes, however, to see more detail, wear sunglasses to cut the glare. Yeah, neighbors will think you’re a bit “loony”, but that’s their loss.

A note about these two images: I’ve been experimenting with some new software and filters for astronomy and made these last night. The first closeup is not a true representation, but the color says strawberry. I left it tat color in post processing. The second image is made from a stack of about 20% of 2000 images registered and stacked in ASI stacking software, with post processing in LightRoom Classic. Both images made with an Explore Scientific 80ED triplet scope, AVX mount, and ASI224 camera.