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A rare ‘Strawberry Moon’ will appear in the sky for the final time tonight – here’s when to catch it

Always love stuff like this.

Danny Jones - 11th June 2025

In the latest astronomical phenomenon to hit Britain and beyond in recent times, a rare ‘Strawberry Moon’ is set to appear once again in UK skies tonight, and you don’t want to miss it.

Put it this way: if you didn’t catch it last night, you won’t get another chance for nearly two decades.

The event only happens approximately every 18.6 years and will be the lowest it’s appeared above our part of the world that its been since 2006.

But for those who’ve never even heard of this, you might be wondering what exactly a Strawberry Moon is. We’re no experts, but this should just about fill you in.

Strawberry Moon 2025 – explained

Look up tonight for something sweet!

The full Strawberry Moon, named by the Algonquin tribes for the time of year that berries ripen, will take to the night skies on June 10-11. pic.twitter.com/GKr41bGUUV
— NASA (@NASA) June 10, 2025

What is it?

Put in simplest terms, a Strawberry Moon occurs when the Moon reaches the extremes of its northernmost and southernmost rising and setting points on the horizon, creating a striking standstill impression to the human eye.

According to expert Matt Woods from the Perth Observatory, “These standstills happen because the Moon’s orbit is tilted at a 5-degree inclination relative to the Earth’s equator and slowly shifts over time.”

The name itself derives from native American culture and, in the case of June’s full Moon, it is dubbed as such not only because of its reddish hue but because it aligns with the start of summer and the beginning of strawberry harvest season.

Colliding with the summer solstice – with said standstill sometimes referred to as a ‘lunicstice’ – the moon will give more of an orange glow rather than pink or red like actual strawberries, but it’s nevertheless a stunning sight. It was already clocked across various parts of the globe since Monday:

Well, it’s not one of my best, but here is a shot of tonight’s virtually full #StrawberryMoon captured with my iPhone 16 Pro 🍓🌝 pic.twitter.com/dwGS4Nv7zu
— Stephen Cheatley Photo 📸 (@Stephencheatley) June 10, 2025

We saw a shy Strawberry Full Moon rising over Ely Cathedral 🌝🌿🍓 this evening, hiding in the haze on the horizon.
Photos taken from Little Downham, Cambridgeshire.#FullMoon #strawberrymoon #ElyCathedral pic.twitter.com/54FnRJIpUy
— Veronica in the Fens 🧚🏼‍♀️ My Heart in Nature (@VeronicaJoPo) June 10, 2025

Why so low, moon-face?

As for why it’s going to loom so low over our skies this evening, UK archaeologist and historian Jennifer Wexler explained to BBC’s Sky At Night Magazine: “Over several years, the limits of moonrise and moonset themselves gradually change, until they reach the point where the northernmost and southernmost moonrise and moonset positions are at their maximum distance apart on the horizon…

“Once a major standstill is reached, the distance between northernmost and southernmost moonrise and moonset can be exceptionally far apart, and it stays that way for around two years.”

With all that in mind, this particular full Moon (10-11 June, 2025) will be the lowest full Moon in the sky for nearly two whole decades and won’t occur again until 2043, hence why so many have taken an interest in trying to catch it.

Speaking of…

When and where is best to see the Strawberry Moon in the UK?

Now, we won’t lie to you, Greater Manchester isn’t necessarily the best-placed area to see the upcoming Strawberry Moon in its full glory this Wednesday; the weather forecast has it that the skies are clearest right up at the top of England, as well as south-west Scotland.

However, provided there isn’t too much cloud coverage, it should still be visible across most regions, including the North West.

The moon is expected to rise around 9:30pm tonight, with the best window to see it appearing within the next hour or so following this period. It may not be as bright and bold as it appeared in some parts of the country on Tuesday, but it’ll still be something to behold.

In terms of what else meteorologists have said about the rest of this week, the weather is looking a bit all over the place, we’re afraid.