June’s full moon is called a strawberry moon. How to see it in Colorado

• The June full moon, nicknamed the strawberry moon, will be at its fullest on June 10 and 11.
• This year’s strawberry moon will be the lowest in the sky since 2006 due to a “major lunar standstill.”
• Partly cloudy skies are forecast for June 10 in Fort Collins, while June 11 has a chance of showers and thunderstorms.

June’s full moon is coming with a strawberry on top, and bottom, and is one not to be missed — unless the weather doesn’t cooperate.

Here’s what you need to know to enjoy this celestial show:

Best times to see the June strawberry full moon

The moon will be fullest the nights of June 10 and 11.

This June’s full moon is special in that while all June full moons ride low in the sky, this June’s full moon will be the lowest full moon since 2006, according to EarthSky. More on that later.

While the moon will shine on these nights, there are two special times to view this full moon. The moon will appear plump hanging low in the eastern horizon just after sunset, which is 8:30 p.m. MT in Fort Collins both evenings.

The strawberry moon is the most colorful of the year because it takes a low, shallow path across the sky, Bob Bonadurer, director of the Milwaukee Public Museum’s planetarium, told USA TODAY.

Another optimal viewing time is when the moon crests, the point at which it appears fullest and brightest. That will occur at 1:44 a.m. MT on June 11 and the moon will hang low in the west opposite the sunrise on June 11, which is at 5:29 a.m. in Fort Collins.

Why Tuesday might make for better full moon viewing than Wednesday in Fort Collins

The Fort Collins forecast calls for partly cloudy skies the night of June 10, according to the National Weather Service.

The forecast for the night of June 11 calls for mostly cloudy skies with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9 p.m. and a slight chance of showers between 9 p.m. and midnight.

Why the June moon is called the strawberry moon? Will it appear that color?

All full moons have names.

Some Native American tribes called the June full moon by this name because June is the time of year many berries ripen, especially strawberries, according to EarthSky.

Despite the name, don’t think of the color of this moon as a ripe strawberry. However, the moon’s low arc means more moonlight in the Earth’s atmosphere might add a hint of color.

“So there’s a chance it will actually look a little bit reddish or pink, and so that may also be part of the origin of the name,” Chris Palma, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, told AccuWeather.

Why this strawberry moon is special

This June’s full moon will ride the lowest since 2006 because of what’s called a “major lunar standstill,” according to EarthSky.

All June moons ride low in the sky and the sun rides high in the sky this time of year. The summer solstice is June 20.

“It’s all about the inclination of the moon’s orbit, which undergoes an 18.6-year cycle,” EarthSky’s John Jardine Goss told USA TODAY. “The cycle happens because the moon’s orbit is being slowly dragged around — mostly due to the pull of the sun — every 18.6 years.”

This year’s major lunar standstill culminated in January 2025. And we’re still close enough to it that the standstill is affecting the path of this June full moon, EarthSky said.

Reporting by USA TODAY reporter Doyle Rice contributed to this report.