Full Moon on Saturday Includes Partial Eclipse
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At 4:30 a.m. PDT on Saturday June 26, the full moon rides low in the southwestern sky of San Francisco. The constellation Sagittarius forms its backdrop. The partial eclipse, which will be at maximum in 8 minutes, is already covering much of the moon. Full Story. CREDIT: Starry Night® Software |
The
full moon of June will rise over Earth on Saturday, only to fall into a partial
lunar eclipse as it passes through part of our planet's shadow.
Known
as the Flower moon in English, the June full moon will occur at 7:30 a.m. EDT
(1130 GMT) on Saturday, June 26, nearly two hours after it is partially
eclipsed. (This
graphic shows where to spot the full moon early Saturday morning.)
Because
of the mechanics
of the moon, it will set around 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT), so observers in
the western and central parts of North America will have a better view of
June's full moon, and the partial lunar eclipse that precedes it.
The
full moon will be located in the constellation Sagittarius, very close to the
southernmost point in its monthly journey around the Earth.
As
a result, the moon spends less time than average above the horizon and never
gets very far above the horizon, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere.
The
partial lunar eclipse will obscure just over half of the full moon. SPACE.com
skywatching columnist Joe Rao said in his guide
to the June 26 lunar eclipse that the event should last for several hours
(2:50 a.m. to 6:25 a.m. Pacific Time).
Moon myths and
mysteries
Weather
permitting, the moon is visible most nights at some point and is the brightest
object in the night sky. It is also visible in daylight much of the month,
though most modern humans may be unaware of it.
Here's
how it works:
The
moon is a sphere, lit from varying angles by the sun. As it moves around the
Earth in its orbit, it goes through a series of phases from new moon, when the
moon lies on or near a line between Earth and sun; first quarter, when lit from
one side; full moon, when lit by the sun directly behind the Earth; and third
quarter, lit from the other side. [More: How Moon
Phases Work]
A
full moon is the most striking of the lunar phases. At this time, a seemingly
huge moon rising in the east, fully illuminated, just as the sun is setting in
the west.
The
large size of the full moon is actually an optical illusion, known as ?the moon
illusion.? It is caused, some scientists think, by our mind?s attempt to make
sense of the moon in relation to earthly objects on the horizon. In fact, the
full moon on the horizon is no larger than the moon at any other time or
location.
You
can verify the moon illusion yourself by holding a small object, such as a
pencil eraser at arm's length and compare its size to that of the rising moon.
Then
go back out a couple hours later, when the moon is higher and seems smaller,
and make the same comparison to the eraser. Alternately, you can take two
pictures of the moon, with your camera at the same settings, then print and
compare them.
Guide to June's full
moon
The
exact time of a full moon is determined strictly by the geometry of the sun,
Earth, and moon: all three fall in a straight line with the Earth in the
middle. This is an instantaneous event, and happens at the same instant
everywhere in the world.
In
June's case, the event will occur after the moon has set in eastern North
America. These circumstances change as you move across the continent.
In
San Francisco, the full moon occurs at 4:30 a.m. with the moon 12 degrees above
the horizon. There, the partial lunar eclipse will be a fine sight up and down
the west coast of North America.
But
in England, June's full moon occurs at 12:30 p.m. British Summer Time, with the
moon far below the horizon. The moon itself is quite indifferent to where on
Earth people are observing it from.
What's in a moon
name?
Like
the full moon of every month, June's comes with a host of different names all
aimed at chronicling the monthly event. Various peoples around the world gave
special names
to the full moons throughout the year as a simple way of recognizing the
passage of time.
The
best known of these names are those used in the English language, but other
well known naming systems are used by the Algonquian peoples of northeastern
North America, the Hindus of India, and the widespread Buddhist religion.
In
addition to its Flower moon moniker, June's full moon also known as the
strawberry moon in Algonquian, Wat Poornima in Hindi, and Poson Poya in the Sinhala Buddhist tradition.
It
is also known as honey moon, rose moon, hot moon, and planting moon.
- Photos:
Lunar Eclipse Wows the World
- Top 10
Amazing Moon Facts, Moon
Gallery
- Beginner
Astrophotography Telescopes
This article was
provided to SPACE.com by Starry
Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions.









