There will be a two-for-one special in the sky tonight
Grab your telescope and find the nearest hill — it's time to go stargazing.
Wednesday night is the optimal time to view two celestial events at once. The first is the whimsically named "strawberry moon," which derives its name not from its color (it looks just like any other full moon), but from the time of year; June's full moon was thought in old farming wisdom to signify the beginning of the strawberry-picking season on the East Coast of the U.S., Inverse reported. Tonight's full moon will reach its full phase just before 1 a.m. ET.
But in addition to this full moon, the Earth's orbit will bring it right between the sun and Saturn, causing a phenomenon known as "Saturn opposition." From sunset to sunrise, skywatchers will be able to spot the ringed planet at the "closest and brightest" it will get this year, Inverse explained.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While the strawberry moon is a one-night-only opportunity, Saturn's opposition will still be visible to some degree until September. And this summer will be full of more chances for vigilant viewers to see more celestial events, such as a total lunar eclipse in July and the Perseids meteor shower in August. Read more about tonight's spectacles at Inverse.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.
-
The UK’s supposed Christian revivalThe Explainer Research has shown that claims of increased church attendance, particularly among young people, ‘may be misleading’
-
How long can Keir Starmer last as Labour leader?Today's Big Question Pathway to a coup ‘still unclear’ even as potential challengers begin manoeuvring into position
-
Child-free train carriages: has push for adults-only spaces gone too far?Talking Point Under-12s ban on premium commuter train carriages in France sparks backlash across the political divide
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19