Full Moon for Father’s Day

The Moon will look full on Sunday, June 16 and Monday, June 17 in North America since it crests in the wee hours of the 17th. It appears “opposite” the Sun (in Earth-based longitude) at 4:31 AM EDT.

Sunday, June 16 also happens to be Father’s Day. The Moon will rise in the evening shortly after sunset and be visible until just after sunrise on the 17th.

Grab some chairs and watch the sunset and the full Moon rise for a magical night!

Full Moon and Jupiter Conjunction

Here’s another treat for Father’s Day. On Sunday, June 16, bright Jupiter and the Moon meet!

Look for the Moon and king planet Jupiter to light up skies all night long—from dusk until dawn!

Learn more about the Full Moon/Jupiter Conjunction on June 16.

What is the Full Strawberry Moon?

The June Full Moon or the last full Moon of spring is called the Full Strawberry Moon.

This Full Moon got its name from the Algonquin tribes in eastern North America who knew it as a signal to gather the ripening fruit of wild strawberries. 

An old European name for this Moon is the Honey Moon or the Mead Moon. It has also been called the Full Rose Moon in Europe. 

(Mead is a drink created by fermenting honey mixed with water, sometimes with fruits, spices, grains, or hops.)

Did You Know: June was traditionally the month of marriages. Following marriage came the “honeymoon,” which may be tied to this full Moon!

Where Did Full Moon Names Come From?

Naming the full Moons is an age-old practice, nothing new. Ancient peoples commonly tracked the seasons by following the lunar calendar (versus today’s Gregorian calendar, which is a solar calendar).

For millennia, people across the world—including Native Americans—named the months after nature’s cues. Later, Colonial Americans adopted many of the Native American names and incorporated them into the modern calendar, as you will see in The Old Farmer’s Almanac, founded in 1792 during George Washington’s presidency.

See your month’s Full Moon name and its meaning.

Moon Phases for June 2019

The next full Moon will crest very early Monday morning, June 17, 2019, at 4:31 AM EDT.
All dates and times below are ET. See our Moon Phase Calendar for peak times in your location.

	New Moon: June 3, 6:02 A.M.
	First Quarter: June 10, 1:59 A.M.
	Full Moon: June 17, 4:31 A.M.
	Last Quarter: June 25, 5:46 A.M.

See our Moonrise & Moonset Calculator to see when the Moon rises in your location.

For your next full Moon, see our Full Moon Dates chart.

Full Strawberry Moon Video

Learn more about how the full Strawberry Moon name originated, along with some fascinating Moon facts, in our short video here:

Best Days in June 2019

Below are the best days for activities, based on the Moon’s sign and phase in June.

See the Best Days for more activities.

Stargazing on June 16 to June 17

• On Saturday night into Sunday morning, June 15 to 16, 2019, the bright planet Jupiter, the bright star Antares, and the waxing, gibbous, almost full Moon will appear as a triangle, with Jupiter on the left, the Moon on the right and Antares below. Look towards the southeast as evening twilight ends; the Moon will reach its highest in the sky around midnight; Antares will be setting in the southwest just as morning twilight begins Sunday morning.
• On the morning of the full Moon on June 17, 2019, as morning twilight begins, the bright planet Jupiter will appear in the southwest at about 8 degrees above the horizon and the planet Saturn will appear in the south-southeast at about 25 degrees above this horizon. The bright star appearing nearly overhead will be Deneb, part of the “Summer Triangle.”  The planet Venus, appearing the brightest of all of the visible planets, will rise in the east-northeast about 15 minutes after morning twilight begins, shining brightly near the horizon until it is lost in the glow of dawn. 
• On Sunday evening into Monday morning, June 16 to 17, 2019, the bright planet Jupiter will appear to the right of the nearly full Moon. They will appear in the southeast as evening twilight ends; the Moon will reach its highest in the sky around midnight; and they will appear in the southwest as morning twilight begins.
• On the evening of June 17, the planet Mercury and the planet Mars will appear about a degree apart in the west-northwest at about 5 degrees above the horizon. Mercury will appear brighter than Mars, with Mercury on the right and Mars on the left.

Some Moon Folklore

• A growing Moon and a flowing tide are lucky times to marry.
• Days following both the New and Full Moons are most likely to be rainy or stormy.
• Crabbing, shrimping, and clamming are best when the Moon is full.

Share your thoughts about this month’s Moon below!

Learn More

The Summer Solstice will be on Friday, June 21, 2019, at 11:54 AM EDT.  This day marks the astronomical end of spring and start of summer.

The solstice is the day with the longest period of sunlight. Afterwards, daylight will begin to shorten again.

Because the actual length of a solar day varies, the earliest sunrises of the year occur before the summer solstice, the day with the longest period of sunlight, and the latest sunsets of the year occur after the solstice. 

Learn more about the Summer Solstice!