By Ling Hui
KUCHING, June 25: The last supermoon of 2021 — the “Strawberry Moon” — does not look at all like a strawberry, but if one happens to catch it when the Moon rises or sets near the horizon where it reflects the colour of the sun, a subtle pinkish hue can maybe sweeten the sight.
Surprisingly, the supermoon, which is also known as the last full Moon of Spring or the first full Moon of Summer, got its name from a fruit as it signaled a time for gathering ripening strawberries.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) page, the Strawberry Moon will appear full for about three days starting from June 24, 2021 at 6.40pm UTC, which is at about 2.40am MYT (UTC+8) in Malaysia.
For a better view of the supermoon, which is also known as the Rose Moon, Hot Moon and Mead Moon, skygazers are advised to look up about 20 minutes after sunset at local time.
Whether you call it pink, rose, strawberry or mead, do enjoy the view of a gigantic moon within these two days as it will be the last of four supermoons for this year.
A month ago on May 26, the reddish-orange “Super Flower Blood Moon” was another supermoon that coincided with Wesak Day.
Many Sarawakians were lucky enough to witness the spectacular phenomenon then and social media was full of pictures of the sighting.
If you’re a Moon lover, look out for the deliciously labeled supermoon tomorrow evening.
After Saturday, the next Strawberry Moon is expected to be on June 14, 2022 at about 7.51pm. — DayakDaily
