What is a rare 'strawberry moon' and when will we be able to see it?
The lowest full Moon since 2006 will glow over the UK skies
The 'strawberry moon', the lowest full moon in decades, is set to glow over the skies of the UK for the first time in almost 20 years.
And night-gazers could get a chance to see a phenomenon overnight on Tuesday (June 10) and into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The rare lunar event will appear in an unusual position in the night sky, making it even more spectacular for those who stay up to see it.
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The 'Strawberry moon' is thanks to a recent astronomical phenomenon called the 'major lunar standstill'. The last time this phenomenon occurred was in 2006 – and it won't return again until 2043.
The phenomenon will rise the evening of June 10, appearing unusually low in the sky. It will peak in the early morning hours of June 11. Tuesday night will likely be best time to see the Strawberry Moon with clear skies in the forecast for parts of the UK.
While the Strawberry Moon very rarely glows red, this year's Strawberry Moon will look a little different. The full Moon will be sat very low in the southern sky and will also appear much bigger than usual – and could even glow an orange-red hue.
This is due to the effect of Earth's atmosphere and how it scatters light reaching the Moon. This is because sunlight filtered through parts of the Earth's atmosphere scatters out most of the blue light, leaving red hues to reflect off the Moon's surface.
It is the lowest full Moon of the year - and hasn't been this low in the sky since 2006. It now won't be again for nearly another two decades. This is because of an event that occurs once every 18.6 years called the 'major lunar standstill'.
Each month's full Moon is given a special nickname. For June, its full Moon is called the 'Strawberry Moon' and is named after the wild strawberries that start to ripen during early summer.
A full Moon happens when the Earth-facing lunar surface is fully illuminated by the Sun, which happens roughly every 29.5 days, which is the length of time it takes for the Moon to go through one whole lunar phase cycle.
Across the Moon's cycle, it follows a tilted orbit around Earth, which then causes visual events called major and minor lunar standstills, when the Moon rises and sets and can appear unusually low or high in the sky.
As a result, this unusually low Moon will appear larger than usual because of a phenomenon called the 'Moon illusion'.
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