The ‘strawberry’ moon is your last chance to see a supermoon this year

(CNN) – The last supermoon of 2021 – the ‘strawberry’ full moon – is due out this Thursday.

Observers will see a large golden moon (sorry, it’s not exactly strawberry-colored) for two or three nights, depending on EarthSky.

This supermoon fills up completely at 2:40 pm ET Thursday afternoon. It will not be fully visible in North America until later in the evening during “moonrise,” when the sun sets and the moon rises into view. But viewers around the world will be able to see the strawberry moon, depending on where they are relative to the horizon.

The definitions of a supermoon may vary, but the term generally denotes a full moon that is brighter and closer to Earth, and therefore appears larger in the night sky.

“The term ‘supermoon’ is much more recent and has come to be any full or new moon within 90% of its closest approach to Earth,” wrote Christine Shupla, manager of education and public engagement at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, in an email.

“By that definition, the full moon on June 24 is also a supermoon, although it is not as close as the full moon in May or April,” he added.

Some adhere to a stricter definition of a supermoon, such as Noah Petro, a lunar scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. For him, the only real supermoon is the nearest full moon of the year, which was last month’s “flower” moon. Still, he acknowledged that others use the definition Shupla provided.

“That there is no standard definition is a nuisance, but anything that gets people interested and excited to look at and want to know more about the moon is great,” Petro wrote in an email.

Why is it called strawberry moon?

The strawberry moon is the first of the four full moons of the summer season. Its name, coming from the indigenous peoples, refers to the ripening of strawberries and other fruits that occurs in late spring and early summer.

The Sioux, Chippewa and Ojibwe communities, for example, refer to the June full moon as the Strawberry Moon, according to the Western Washington University Planetarium website.

Other groups gave it slightly different names that still nod to the June fruit season, such as the creek term “kvco-hvsee” (or “blackberry moon”). The Haida call it “gáan kungáay,” which means “moon of ripe blackberries.”

However, many tribes have nicknames for the June full moon that have nothing to do with the fruit, such as “msheke’kesis” or “turtle moon” of the Potawatomi tribe; and “at gadaxeet dis” or “birth moon” of the Tlingit.

The European alternatives to the June full moon are “honeymoon” or “mead moon”, depending on The Old Farmer’s Almanac. This may be due to June’s reputation as marriage month and could be where the use of the term “honeymoon” for post-wedding vacations originated.

Typical of a normal year, 2021 has 12 full moons. (There were 13 full moons last year, two of them in October.)

Here are all the full moons left this year and their names, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac:

• July 23 – Deer Moon
• August 22 – sturgeon moon
• September 20 – Harvest Moon
• October 20 – Hunter’s Moon
• November 19 – Beaver Moon
• December 18 – cold moon

Make sure to check the other names of these moons, attributed to their respective Native American tribes.

Then again, these are other astronomical shows you can look forward to in 2021.

Star showers

The Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower is best viewed from the southern tropics and will peak between July 28-29, when the moon is 74% full.

Interestingly, another meteor shower peaks on the same night: the Alpha Capricornids. Although this is a much weaker shower, it is known to produce some bright fireballs during its peak. It will be visible to everyone, regardless of which side of the equator you are on.

The Perseid Meteor Shower, the most popular of the year, will peak between August 11-12 in the Northern Hemisphere, when the moon is only 13% full.

This is the Meteor Shower schedule for the rest of the year, according to EarthSky.

• October 8: Draconids
• October 21: Orionids
• November 4 and 5: Southern Taurids
• November 11 and 12: Northern Taurids
• November 17: Leonidas
• December 13-14: Geminids
• December 22: Ursidas

Solar and lunar eclipses

This year there will be an eclipse of the sun and another of the moon, depending on The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

On November 19 there will be a partial lunar eclipse. Sky watchers in North America and Hawaii will be able to see it between 1 a.m. and 7:06 a.m. Eastern time.

And the year will end with a total solar eclipse on December 4. It will not be visible in North America, but people in the Falkland Islands, the southern tip of Africa, Antarctica and southeastern Australia will be able to see it.

Visible planets

Sky watchers will have multiple opportunities to see planets in our sky on certain mornings and nights throughout 2021, according to the The Old Farmer’s Almanac Planetary Guide.

Most of them can be seen with the naked eye, with the exception of distant Neptune, but binoculars or a telescope will provide the best view.

Mercury will appear as a bright star in the morning sky from June 27 to July 16 and from October 18 to November 1. It will shine in the night sky from August 31 to September 21 and from November 29 to December 31.

Venus, our closest neighbor in the solar system, will appear in the western sky at dusk until December 31. It is the second brightest object in our sky, after the moon.

Mars makes its reddish appearance in the morning sky between November 24 and December 31. It will be visible in the night sky until August 22.

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, is the third brightest object in our sky. It can be seen in the morning sky until August 19. Look for it at night from August 20 to December 31, but its brightest will occur from August 8 to September 2.

Saturn’s rings are only visible with a telescope, but the planet can be seen with the naked eye in the mornings until August 1 and at nights from August 2 to December 31. Its greatest brightness will occur during the first four days of August.

Binoculars or a telescope will help you see the greenish glow of Uranus in the morning until November 3 and at night from November 4 to December 31. Its maximum brightness will occur between August 28 and December 31.

And our farthest neighbor in the solar system, Neptune, will be visible through a telescope in the mornings until September 13 and during the nights from September 14 to December 31. Its maximum brightness will occur between July 19 and November 8.