Mark your calendars and turn to the sky — there will be another exciting celestial event Friday night, right after the start of summer.

The full moon, called a “strawberry moon” because of its pink or reddish hue, is expected to appear right after the summer solstice, which marks the onset of summer and the longest period of sunlight of the year for the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA.

The moon is expected at 9:08 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and will be opposite to the sun, according to NASA. In Los Angeles, the moon is expected to rise at about 7:24 p.m. and reach the highest point in the sky at 12:13 a.m. Local times can be found at timeanddate.com.

The full moon only occurs within a day of the summer solstice about every 19 to 20 years, according to Space.com. This time around, the moon is expected to appear full for about three days.

The name “strawberry moon” comes from the Indigenous American Algonquin tribes to describe when strawberries ripen in June and are ready to be collected, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.

“Since the 2024 June full Moon happens on the solstice, the very day the Sun is absolutely at its highest of the year, this month’s full Moon on the 21st is the very lowest full Moon, indeed, the lowest we’ve seen in years,” the Almanac reported. “Just look at it! Because the Moon is so low, it will appear bigger than ever. This is called the ‘Moon Illusion.’”

The European name for this moon is the “mead” or “honey moon,” according to NASA. Mead, known in some countries as honey wine, is created by fermenting honey with fruits or other spices. Meanwhile, the term “honeymoon” dates back to Europe in the 1500s and references getting married in June because it’s the “sweetest” moon of the year.

The moon will take on a reddish orange color due to how low it will hang in the sky and its close proximity to the horizon. Because of how low the moon will be, that also means the sky will be darker due to lower levels of moonlight.

If the last couple years are any indication, bird flu is not just for the birds.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as H5N1, has been confirmed in 101 dairy herds in 12 states since March, with Michigan, Texas and Idaho leading the pack. Even more troubling, there have been three confirmed human infections among U.S. dairy workers so far. Evidence of transmission from cows back to domestic and wild birds, and even to dairy farm cats, has also been found.

Since early 2022, wild birds have shouldered the blame for the spread of the current iteration of H5N1 to domestic bird populations, ranging from backyard flocks to farms confining several million animals. Viral diseases commonly spread within the same or similar species. But alarm bells go off when they make the leap into species unrelated to the original host.

The latest spillover from birds to dairy cattle is particularly concerning because of the virus’ ability to spread undetected in cows that are in close contact with vulnerable dairy workers and produce meat and milk that may enter the food supply. The current strain of avian flu has infected at least 48 species of mammals worldwide, and recent reports indicate novel mammal-to-mammal transmission, including from cows directly to humans.

Officials still consider the threat to public health low. But even if the spread doesn’t escalate, it should be a warning to the federal government and the dairy industry.

Each year, millions of dairy cattle are transported long distances in the U.S. under grueling conditions — deprived of food, water and protection from extreme heat and cold. Transport stress additionally compromises animals’ immune systems. In particular, hundreds of thousands of newborn calves are transported on journeys that can exceed 1,000 miles. Male calves, typically considered a “low-value byproduct” of the dairy industry used for veal or beef production, are often fed unpasteurized waste milk, putting them at high risk of contracting H5N1, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Livestock transport is regulated at the federal level by the Twenty-Eight Hour Law, which requires animals traveling domestically for more than 28 hours to be offloaded for food, water and rest, and the Animal Health Protection Act, which gives the USDA broad authority to restrict the movement of animals to control disease. Livestock transported across state lines must also comply with the receiving state’s import restrictions, which may require that the animals have certificates of veterinary inspection.

In theory, these laws act as important tools in protecting animal health and food safety. Unfortunately, enforcement of the Twenty-Eight Hour Law is virtually nonexistent, according to research conducted by my organization, the Animal Welfare Institute.

Additionally, neither the Twenty-Eight Hour Law nor the Animal Health Protection Act establishes specific requirements to ensure animals are both healthy and strong enough to travel. Although certificates of veterinary inspection can help trace the movement of infected animals during a disease outbreak, this system inevitably falls short. That’s because pre-transport assessments of animal health often amount to a quick visual inspection for outward signs of communicable disease instead of verification that animals can physically withstand the journey. Experts in humane livestock handling, including Temple Grandin, consider “fitness for transport” to be a crucial factor in protecting food safety and animal health and welfare.

Veterinary inspections are not even mandated for all transported animals, including many of the approximately 3 million “cull” dairy cows slaughtered annually. These animals often suffer from debilitating conditions that increase transport-related stress and immunosuppression. Meanwhile, of the more than 97 million U.S. birds affected by H5N1 since 2022, most have been killed to mitigate disease transmission. Many died horrifically after their owners induced heatstroke, according to USDA records.

This month, Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) introduced federal legislation that would help address health and safety gaps. The Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act would direct federal officials to develop a process to enforce the Twenty-Eight Hour Law, increasing active monitoring of long-distance transport. The bill would also prohibit interstate transport of livestock considered unfit for travel based on criteria from the World Organisation for Animal Health, the international authority on the health and welfare of animals.

New research suggests that a single H5N1 spillover event from birds to cattle occurred in Texas as early as last year. Subsequent cattle shipments carried the disease to distant herds around the nation. Stricter regulation may well have limited the spread.

When billions of animals are intensively raised, transported and slaughtered each year, conditions are ripe for pathogens to mutate, spread and seriously endanger animal and public health. The Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act cannot stop the spread of bird flu on its own. But it would further essential efforts to provide oversight of the millions of animals — and their pathogens — regularly crossing state lines.

Gwendolen Reyes-Illg is a veterinary medicine consultant for the Animal Welfare Institute.

To boldly go where no man has gone before.

That’s the mission of the USS Enterprise — and arguably the aim of a $1-million prize being offered through a foundation created to honor the father of the “Star Trek” franchise.

The Roddenberry Foundation — named for Gene Roddenberry — announced Tuesday that this year’s biennial award would focus on artificial intelligence that benefits humanity.

Lior Ipp, chief executive of the foundation, told The Times there’s a growing recognition that AI is becoming more ubiquitous and will affect all aspects of our lives.

“We are trying to … catalyze folks to think about what AI looks like if it’s used for good,” Ipp said, “and what it means to use AI responsibly, ethically and toward solving some of the thorny global challenges that exist in the world.”

The Roddenberry Prize is open to early-stage ventures — including nonprofits and for-profits — across the globe.

Each cycle, the focal point of the award changes. The spotlight on AI and machine learning arrives as recent strides in the technology have sparked excitement as well as fear.

Concerns abound that AI threatens privacy, intellectual property and jobs, including the work performed by this reporter. Although it can automate busywork, it may also replicate the harmful biases of the people who created it.

California legislators are racing to address anxieties through about 50 AI-related bills, many of which aim to install safeguards around the technology, which lawmakers say could cause societal harm. The proposed legislation targets AI-related fears ranging from data security to racial discrimination.

“We’ve seen with other technologies that we don’t do anything until well after there’s a big problem,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who wrote a bill that would require companies developing large AI models to do safety testing.

“Social media had contributed many good things to society … but we know there have been significant downsides to social media, and we did nothing to reduce or to mitigate those harms,” he said. “And now we’re playing catch-up. I prefer not to play catch-up.”

Ipp said the foundation shares the broad concern about AI and sees the award as a means to potentially contribute to creating those guardrails.

The language of the application states that it’s seeking ethical proposals. And much like the multicultural, multi-planetary cast of “Star Trek,” it’s supposed to be inclusive.

“Any use of AI or machine learning must be fair, transparent, respectful of individual rights and privacy, and should explicitly design against bias or discrimination against individuals, communities or groups,” according to the prize website.

Inspiration for the theme was also borne out of the applications the foundation received last time around. Ipp said the prize, which is “issue-agnostic” but focused on early-stage tech, produced compelling uses of AI and machine learning in agriculture, healthcare, biotech and education.

“So,” he said, “we sort of decided to double down this year on specifically AI and machine learning.”

The most recent winner was Sweden-based Elypta, which Ipp said is using liquid biopsies, such as a blood test, to detect cancer early.

Though the foundation isn’t prioritizing a particular issue, the application states that it is looking for ideas that have the potential to push the needle on one or more of the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals, which include eliminating poverty and hunger as well as boosting climate action and protecting life on land and underwater.

“Star Trek,” which first aired in 1966, featured tons of enviable tech, including the universal translator, the tricorder — a handheld device that performed environmental scans, data recording and data analysis — and the transporter, useful for when you need to hop to an alien planet in a pinch.

And you could always trust Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy to employ the gadgets for good.

Those who meet the eligibility criteria for the Roddenberry Prize can apply through July 12. The grant will be awarded to one winner in November.

The foundation was launched by Gene Roddenberry’s family after his death in 1991.