By Souls of Silver
June is almost here and along with it, the Strawberry Full Moon is coming to bless us all. It will be passing through the dim outer shade of our Planet. That’s why it is called the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. This Strawberry Full Moon is going to cause this Lunar Eclipse on 5th and 6th June. It is the 2nd of the 4 Penumbral Lunar Eclipses scheduled for 2020.
If you are someone who lives in Australia, Europe, Asia, the South Eastern areas of South America, and Africa, you might see the Moon turning a bit dark. This is the moment when the Eclipse reaches its maximum. Since it is a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, it will deliver a subtle shade and so, you have to be really careful if you want to see it.
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The Eclipse of the Strawberry Full Moon is going to last for around 3 hours and 18 minutes in many areas and so, you can witness it completely. However, in the major parts of South America and North America, the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse will be below the horizon.
If you don’t already know, a Lunar Eclipse takes place when the Earth comes in between the Sun and the Full Moon. This blocks off the rays of the Sun and hence, causes a shadow. This shadow results in the Lunar Eclipse.
If you recall high school physics, you would recall that a shadow has two parts – the umbra and the penumbra. Well, the umbra of the Earth can cause the total Eclipse since it is the dark part of the shadow of the earth and hence, covers up the entire lunar surface. The umbra is the central part of the shadow and hence, it is the darkest area. Around the umbra, a lighter shade of the shadow appears, and this lighter shade is known as the penumbra. The Penumbral Lunar Eclipse is just that – it is forming on the faint penumbra of the earth. Hence, a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse takes place when the Moon enters the outer shadow of the Earth. We have experienced something like this before, in this very year.
On 10th January there was the 1st Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. There are three more scheduled to happen for this year. One is on 5th June while the others are on 5th July and 31st November.
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You might be wondering why the Moon is called the Strawberry Full Moon. This name comes from early Indigenous people from North America. They used to keep a near-accurate track of all the seasons and the lunar months, and named the Full Moon as per the season. The Full Moon taking place in June is the last Full Moon occurring in Spring or the first Full Moon of Summer. Hence, it has been termed as the Strawberry Moon. As per the Almanac, The Algonquin tribes of eastern North America used to equate the timing of this moon with the ripening time of wild strawberries. Many of the names given to the lunar season by Native Americans are still used today.
Since the Eclipse will be on the lighter shade of the earth, that is, the penumbra, it might be difficult to distinguish the Full Moon from a normal Moon. So, you have to keep your eyes peeled to see the dimming of the Full Moon.
If you want to tell the tale of the June Strawberry Full Moon, share this article with your friends and family, and invite them to this Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.
