In Photos: A Spectacular ‘Strawberry Moon’ Lights Up The Night Sky

Jamie Carter

FORBES
Senior Contributor
I inspire people to go stargazing, watch the Moon, enjoy the night sky
Jun 5, 2023

The full Strawberry Moon sets behind the Statue of Liberty before sunrise on June 4, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Sky-watchers across the world were treated to a spectacular sight this weekend as the full “Strawberry Moon” lit-up the night sky.

The final full moon of spring 2023 in the northern hemisphere, the “Strawberry Moon” is named after the fruit that ripens at this time of year (and not for its color).

To get the best view of a full moon means being somewhere that has a good view low to the eastern or western horizon at the precise time of moonrise or moonset. Only then is it possible to see the orb gradually appear while draped in reddish orange hues.

That’s exactly what these photographers did to get some often impeccably-planned shots, some before sunrise and others after sunset on Saturday, June 2, 2023.

Photojournalist Gary Hershorn in New York City captured the incredible shot of the “Strawberry Moon” with the Statue of Liberty (above) as well as this image:

The full Strawberry Moon sets behind the Statue of Liberty before sunrise on June 4, 2023, in New ... 
Also in the Big Apple, Dan Martland shot this time-lapse of the “Strawberry Moon” setting behind One World Trade Center:

A few hours later, Tayfun Coskun snapped the full moon rising over Alcatraz in San Francisco:

Full Strawberry Moon rises over Alcatraz of San Francisco in California, United States on June 3, ... ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

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Earlier that evening some spectacular images of the “Strawberry Moon” were taken in the UK, including this one by Stuart Cornell of the moonrise behind St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall:
Another standout came from Cambridge, with the full moon imaged as it appeared behind the spire of Ely Cathedral:

For the northern hemisphere it was one of the lowest-hanging full moons of 2023. That’s because in a few weeks it’s solstice, when the Sun is highest (farthest north) in the sky—and a full moon is opposite the sun with regard to Earth.

In this view from Fort Baker, a strawberry moon rises behind the San Francisco skyline Saturday, ... [+]COPYRIGHT 2023 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The next full moon is the “Buck Moon,” which will be the first of summer in the northern hemisphere and also be the first of four supermoons in 2023. It will be best viewed at moonrise on Sunday, July 2, 2023 just before it turns 100% full.