Discover the enchanting “strawberry moon” rising over Arizona on June 29, offering a unique skywatching opportunity.
PHOENIX — Get ready to view the strawberry moon! No, it won’t actually look like a giant strawberry. The name is less about the look and more about the month in which the full moon occurs.
When to See it in Arizona
This year, the Strawberry Moon officially rises on Monday, June 29.
For your skywatching plans:
Moonrise: The moon will crest the eastern horizon at 7:58 p.m. in the Phoenix area. Find a spot with a clear view toward the east and watch it climb into the twilight sky!
Peak Illumination: The moon actually reaches absolute fullness at 4:56 p.m. Arizona time. However, it will still appear full when it rises three hours later.
The Prime Viewing Window: For the most dramatic impact, the best time for viewing will be in the evening right as the sun is going down.
Why is it called the strawberry moon?
The naming of full moons was popularized by the Old Farmer’s Almanac and are actually a blend of cultural traditions, predominantly from the Algonquian and Iroquoian tribes of the Northeastern US. Those native tribes tracked the changing of the seasons via the lunar calendar. The June full moon perfectly coincided with the short, early-summer ripening of wild strawberries. Essentially, this moon was nature’s alarm clock signaling that it was time to start picking!
Depending on the region and culture, this moon has also been called the Berries Ripen Moon, the Green Corn Moon, and the Rose Moon. Most Native American tribes have their own set of full moon names, and those names reflect each tribe’s customs and regional climate and ecology.
In Arizona, rather than fixed, single “full moon” names, the Hopi, Apache, and Diné name each entire lunar month based on seasonal shifts, agriculture, and the natural environment.
For example, the Navajo word for June is Ya’iishjaashchili which roughly translates as “planting of early crops” or “little corn tassels.”
The Hopi refer to June as wuko’uyismuya, the month of planting.
Meanwhile, the western Apache word for June is itsáh bizhaazh, which translates to “eaglets” or “young eagles”
It’s a “Micro Moon”: The moon’s orbit around Earth isn’t a perfect circle; it’s an ellipse. This year, the Strawberry Moon occurs while it is near apogee, that’s its farthest point from Earth in its orbit (251,813 miles to be exact). That makes this a “micro moon” (the exact opposite of a supermoon), meaning it will appear just a tiny bit smaller in the sky than usual. The difference is so small that you probably won’t even notice. Monday’s full moon is also the third and final micromoon of 2026.
The “Moon Illusion”: Even though it is technically a micro moon, catching it right as it rises above the horizon might make it look surprisingly massive. This is a famous optical illusion caused by our brains comparing the moon to foreground objects like mountains, trees, or city buildings.
A Low Trajectory: Because we are just past the summer solstice (when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky), the full moon—which sits directly opposite the sun—will take a noticeably lower path across the southern sky throughout the night.
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