Locals looking to bathe under the light of an especially mammoth-looking moon should mark their calendars this June.
There are only two "supermoons" this year and one of them takes place in Metro Vancouver in the wee hours of Tuesday, June 14.
Also known as the "Strawberry" moon, June's full moon marks the time of year when Indigenous peoples would gather the fresh fruit.
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the June moon got its name, "from the Algonquin tribes who knew it as a signal to gather the ripening fruit of wild strawberries." It notes that Native peoples would give distinctive names to each reoccurring full moon to mark the change of seasons. As such, many of these names arose when Native Americans first interacted with colonialists.
June's full moon is also known as the Honey Moon, Mead Moon, and the Full Rose Moon in Europe.
Strawberry Supermoon
In Vancouver, the moon will be at its fullest at 4:51 a.m. on June 14, according to timeanddate.com. The moon will appear full in the hours on Wednesday night beforehand, however.
This year's full strawberry moon is also considered a supermoon, which means that it will appear a whopping 15 per cent brighter and seven per cent bigger than a regular full moon due to its proximity to earth.
EarthSky notes that astronomers usually refer to "supermoons" as perigean full moons — a term that simply refers to the moon being "near earth."
Sky-watchers should opt to travel as far away from city lights as possible in order to avoid light pollution that will obscure the clarity of heavenly bodies. While this works best in more remote places, anywhere that has a higher elevation will also provide more ideal viewing conditions.
