This month’s full Strawberry Moon is upon us! Here’s how you can watch the lowest full moon in a decade grace the sky on June 11 from the comfort of your couch.
June’s full moon rides surprisingly low across the southern sky thanks to a rare phenomenon known as a major lunar standstill, which occurs when the sun‘s gravitational influence drags the moon‘s tilted orbit into its greatest inclination relative to our planet’s celestial equator. During this time, the moon’s orbit is at its most extreme, causing it to ride unusually low — or high — across the sky depending on the time of year, while rising and setting at its most southerly and northerly points on the horizon.
Despite being the brightest object in the night sky, Earth’s moon can be a surprisingly tricky target to spot for skywatchers in metropolitan areas, where high-rise buildings can dramatically reduce your field of view. It’ll be even tougher to spot the full moon on June 11, when the low-riding lunar disk climbs to a maximum altitude of 20 degrees above the horizon for viewers in New York City.
Thankfully, there’s no need to panic if you can’t find a spot with a clear view of the southern horizon, or if clouds turn up to entirely obscure your view of the sky above. Here’s how to watch the Strawberry Moon rise online via livestream on June 11, without ever leaving your house.
The Virtual Telescope Project livestream
The Virtual Telescope Project (VTP) will hold its own live stream starting at 3:30 p.m. ET (1930 GMT) on June 11, featuring views from the organization’s robotic telescopes situated in Tuscany, Italy.
The VTP was founded in 2006 by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi with the goal of “bringing the universe down to Earth”, according to the organization’s website. It regularly hosts livestreams of major astronomical events including planetary conjunctions and meteor showers, while providing real-time views of potentially hazardous asteroids as they make a close approach to our planet.
Los Angeles Griffith Observatory livestream
The famous Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles will also host a live stream of the Strawberry Moon rising from its most southerly position on the eastern horizon in 18 years. The observatory will go live on YouTube starting at 11:42 p.m. ET on June 11 (0342 GMT on June 12).
Both live streams are completely free and require nothing but a smart device/computer and an active internet connection to watch!
Editor’s Note: If you capture a picture of the Strawberry Moon and want to share it with Space.com’s readers, then please send it along with your comments, name and shooting time/location to spacephotos@space.com.