Today—June 20, 2016—don’t miss your opportunity to catch a glimpse of the summer solstice full moon!
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this hasn’t happened since 1967. And it won’t happen again until June 21, 2062!
Technically, for those of us in Saskatchewan, the moon looked fuller last night than it will tonight. That’s because it was closer to its “fullest point” then. If you want to be exact, the moon was officially full this morning at 11:02 UTC—that’s 5:02 a.m. CST, about the same time it plunged beyond our western horizon. But most likely you didn’t catch that. J So, keep your eyes peeled for the moon tonight! It’ll be clearing Kindersley’s horizon at around 10:00 pm.
Wondering why this event is so special? Well, every 19 years, moon phases recur on—or near—the same date. It’s not exact, though. There’s often a day or two of discrepancy, which is why a summer solstice full moon is somewhat uncommon.
19 years from now—in the year 2035—the moon will be full on June 20, with the summer solstice occurring one day later, on June 21, 2035.
In 2062, though, it’ll be a direct hit—the moon will turn full on June 21, 2062. On the very same calendar date as the June solstice!
Sick of lunar trivia yet? The last time there was a full moon on a solstice was December 21, 2010. It was actually a December solstice total lunar eclipse (what a mouthful!). For those of you who remember it, consider yourself lucky! This event was extremely rare. Another one won’t happen until December 21, 2094.
