鈥� ring any bells? It鈥檚 not a character from a Saturday morning TV show.
On Friday night, if the sky is dark enough, you may be able to look up in the sky and see a rare strawberry moon visible from where you are this year. For the first time since 1985, the celestial event will coincide with the summer solstice.
Amy Ray, a resident astronomer at the at the out in West Texas, spoke to Texas Standard about the moon. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: So tell us a little bit about this strawberry moon and where it got its name and all that kind of good stuff.
Amy Ray: So the name 鈥渟trawberry moon鈥� comes from the season it aligns with. So right now it鈥檚 the strawberry harvest season.
Many people think that the name comes from the color. It鈥檚 actually not going to appear red in the sky.
So we鈥檙e not going to see a red-speckled moon or anything like that. So what will we see? And what time do we go out to see it?
So this year is going to be really interesting because the moon is going to be very, very low in the sky. So it will have a slight color to it. So it鈥檒l appear a golden color or maybe an orangish color.
This is because it is so low, light from the moon has to pass through more of the Earth鈥檚 atmosphere. So a lot of that blue light that we usually see from the moon is going to be scattered out.
Interesting. And that gives it that sort of orangish hue to it. So this year鈥檚 strawberry moon coincides with the summer solstice. What鈥檚 the significance of that?
So it doesn鈥檛 happen very often. This year, it鈥檚 really special because the moon鈥檚 orbital inclination is not in the same plane as the Earth as it orbits the sun. It has a slight tilt of about 5 degrees, above and below.
So this year, that tilt has processed around or moved around to where the lowest point is going to be close to the summer solstice. And so when that full moon is occurring, it鈥檚 going to have a very, very low arc across the sky.
禄 GET MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE:
Now, with the moon being as close to the horizon as you鈥檙e describing, does that do anything in terms of how we perceive the size of the moon?
Yes. So there is an effect called the . It鈥檚 not fully known what causes this, but when the moon is close to the horizon, it appears much, much larger than it actually is.
So if you were to hold your thumb out at arm鈥檚 length and cover the moon, you would cover about half of it with your thumb. And you can do this for another full moon. If you do that, it will appear to cover the same size as if you were to do it with a moon that鈥檚 really close to the horizon, even though that moon looks so much bigger.
Yeah, I鈥檝e seen this before, but I wasn鈥檛 sure exactly why it was that the moon sometimes seemed as big as it did in the sky. But it has to do with its proximity or its arc being low to the horizon from where we are?
Yes, it鈥檚 the forced perspective from things on the horizon.
Interesting. So where鈥檚 the best place? I would imagine the McDonald Observatory is the best place in Texas to observe this. But if you don鈥檛 happen to be out around Fort Davis when this happens on Friday, what are some tips on being able to spot it and see it and maybe get a good snap or two?
So the best place to see it 鈥� if you鈥檙e not in a city or any place like that 鈥� if you can get to a point where, since this is going to be so close to the horizon, anywhere that you鈥檙e not close to like very tall buildings or surrounded by trees, that would be the best place to see it.
And as far as times go, it鈥檚 going to start rising close to 9 p.m. in Texas.
So you look out over the eastern horizon?
Yes. It鈥檒l start in the east and it鈥檒l reach its highest point around 1 a.m., but I don鈥檛 think many people would want to stay up that late to see it.
Well, what is the big appeal here? Because it鈥檚 not so much that it鈥檚 going to look like a particularly unusual moon. I mean, I鈥檝e seen orangish-colored moons before, right?
Yeah. So we do get them occasionally.
As moons rise, we鈥檒l see that light being scattered through the atmosphere, and then it鈥檒l transition to a normal-colored moon. But this year, since it鈥檚 going to stay so low, it鈥檒l retain that reddish color throughout the night.
If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation to support it . Your gift helps pay for everything you find on and . Thanks for donating today.
Copyright 2024 KUT 90.5
