In spite of the sultry temperatures here in the northeast, the strawberries are ripe. At least the Strawberry Moon is ripe. The first lesson most astro photographers learn in this part of the country is to shoot when the sky is clear ’cause it’s only gonna happen about 30% of the time. June 20, the Summer Solstice, promised a full moon–the Strawberry Moon. Well, not exactly. It was 98.something of full. The percentage was about the same as the temperature as I waited for Luna to rise in the spot I had chosen. My calculations were a bit off, however, she did not disappoint. In color she was a pinkish tone, not quite strawberry red, but close enough. According to legend, it’s called the Strawberry Moon because Indigenous people knew the berries would be ripe at about the same time as this full moon–not because of its color. Well, ya coulda fooled me. This was a single image taken through my Explore Scientific ED80CF scope, Nikon D850, ISO 200, 1/125th f4.5. If you look closely, to the left of the moon about an inch away you can see a bat. He accompanied me for a while but I could not catch him in front of the moon.
Witt’s End 