As we enter the month of June and welcome the monsoon season, be prepared to witness this month’s cosmic occurrence — Strawberry Supermoon — as the Native Americans call it, up in the sky today, Tuesday, June 14.

Interestingly, this year’s Strawberry Supermoon is a rare celestial event as it marks the first supermoon of the summer season. Here are some things you should know before viewing it.

What is a Strawberry Supermoon?
June’s full moon has been called the Strawberry Supermoon. The Old Farmer’s Almanac (a reference book that contains information on weather, astronomical data and so on) uses the term “Strawberry Supermoon” to mark the ripening of “June-bearing” strawberries which are now ready to be gathered.

So, what is different about it this time?
Even though the moon will look nothing like the bright fruit, it will appear brighter and larger than usual to people on Earth because it is also going to be a supermoon, that is, when the moon is at the closest point in its orbit around the Earth. NASA says that such supermoons are relatively rare as they happen only three to four times a year, always consecutively.

What are the other types of moons?
The moon has multiple phases and types.

For example, the Blood Moon occurs when the moon doesn’t receive any sunlight during the lunar eclipse as the Earth ends up lying between the Moon and the Sun.

The Blue Moon, which does occur once in a blue moon (once every two and a half years), is the third full moon in a season with four full moons.

The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs at the start of autumn (September - December). The history behind the name dates back to when farmers would depend on the moon’s light for harvesting their crops at the night.

When and where can one watch?
The Strawberry Supermoon will be visible to the naked eye at 7:51 am EDT (5:21 pm IST). Viewers can also access a free live stream of the full moon by the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy’s Ceccano which will begin at 3:15 pm EDT (12:45 am IST).

Here's the link www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/

When will the next supermoon occur?
The next supermoon of the year is set to appear in July 2022 and is known as Buck Moon. The Buck Moon will orbit closer to the Earth than any other full moon this year and hence, will be the biggest supermoon of 2022!