The year’s half over, but the names and dates of full moons are still interesting and timely considering tonight’s strawberry moon.
Full moons get their names from Native American tribes living in the northeast U.S. Tonight’s full moon was so named because it signifies a time to gather ripening fruit during a short growing season.
Sky gazers have variations in why moons garner certain monikers, but most can agree on the names.
The names include those alerting to danger, such as the wolf moon, or are sometimes tied to food. The sturgeon moon, also called the red moon, was linked by Great Lakes tribes to the best time to fish for the bottom feeders.
The worm moon? It’s when the land softens, the earthworms reappear, and the robins return. Basically it signals the end of winter. Also called the crow moon.
According to Space.com, the following are the names and dates of this year's full moons.
Wolf Moon: Jan. 4, 11:53 p.m.
Snow Moon: Feb. 3, 6:09 p.m.
Worm Moon: March 5, 1:05 p.m.
Pink Moon: April 4, 8:06 a.m.
Flower Moon: May 3, 11:42 p.m.
Strawberry Moon: June 2, 12:19 p.m.
Buck Moon: July 1, 10:20 p.m.
Blue Moon: July 31, 6:43 a.m.
Sturgeon Moon: Aug. 29, 2:35 p.m.
The sturgeon moon, also called the red moon, is so named because around the Great Lakes this is when the fish was most readily caught, according to Space.com.
Harvest Moon: Sept. 27, 10:50 p.m.
Hunter's Moon: Oct. 27, 8:05 a.m.
Beaver Moon: Nov. 25, 5:44 p.m.
Cold Moon: Dec. 25, 6:11 a.m.
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