Strawberry Moon in India on Friday: Date, time and all you need to know

New Delhi : People in India will be witnessing another astronomical treat on Friday. The nation will see ‘Strawberry moon’ or the penumbral lunar eclipse across its skies. The name 'Strawberry Moon is associated with the ripening season of the fruit during the penumbral eclipse.

“The Maine Farmer's Almanac first published Indian (native Americans) names for the full moons in the 1930s. According to the Almanac, as the full moon in June and the last full moon of spring, the Algonquin tribes called this the Strawberry Moon. The name comes from the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries in the north-eastern United States,” NASA said.

In a penumbral lunar eclipse, the moon and the sun will be on opposite sides of the earth, and since the distance of moon will not be enough for it to get light from sun, the earth’s shadow will partially fall on it. 

The earth will block some of the light from the sun, which means, more than 50% of the moon will be covered or eclipsed by the earth’s outer shadow. The shadow of the earth that will fall on the moon is the penumbra, the outermost shadow.

Best time to watch Strawberry Moon?

The penumbral eclipse will start at 11.15 pm on June 5 and end at 2:34 am on June 6, according to reports. It can be seen in full at 12.54 am on Saturday, and will last for three hours and 18 minutes in entirety.

The Strawberry Moon will also be visible in most of Europe and Asia, Australia, Africa, South and East South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Antarctica.

Future Eclipses?

Well, this is not just an eclipse in near future, there will be a solar eclipse on June 21, and another penumbral lunar eclipse on July 5, which will only be visible to some parts of the world.