For the first time in nearly 50 years, the summer solstice and the full moon will fall on the same day. Solstices and full moons are nothing out of the ordinary; however, the two events rarely happen on the same day like they will on Monday. The last time that there was a full moon on the same day as the summer solstice was back in June of 1967, according to EarthSky. This year's summer solstice on Monday brings a special event, as it coincides with the full strawberry moon for the first time in nearly 50 years. The summer solstice is the day with the most amount of sunshine as the sun will reach the highest point throughout the course of the year. Despite its name, the strawberry moon will glow more of a warm amber color than pink or red. The Old Farmer's Almanac's Bob Berman explained, "The sun gets super high so this moon must be super-low. Even at its loftiest at 1 a.m., it's downright wimpy-low. This forces its light through thicker air, which also tends to be humid this time of year, and the combination typically makes it amber colored."
The phenomenon has several different names throughout the world, but the most common include the strawberry moon, rose moon and honey moon. The strawberry moon received its name from Native American Algonquin tribes, which knew it as the signal to collect ripe fruit, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. The last time a full moon landed on the summer solstice was in 1948, the Old Farmer's Almanac reported. You can watch the strawberry moon courtesy of the Old Farmer's Almanac and Slooh in the video.June's full moon is often referred to as the Full Strawberry Moon as the Algonquin tribes knew that it signified that fruits, such as strawberries, were ripe for the picking. Other names for June's full moon include the Rose Moon, the Hot Moon, the Honey Moon and in the Southern Hemisphere, the Long Night Moon. Much of the country should have good viewing conditions on Monday night; however, some clouds could block out the full moon from western New York to Missouri. The moon was officially 100 percent 'full' at 7:02 a.m. EDT on Monday and the official start of summer, or the summer solstice, occurs at 6:34 p.m. EDT on Monday. If you miss Monday's full moon, you'll have to wait another 46 years before you can see the full moon on the summer solstice. The next time that these events fall on the same day is June 21, 2062.
