Tonight’s Strawberry Moon Over Illinois: Lowest Moon In 20 Years

Before you point out that a full moon is just another full moon, I should tell you that tonight's full moon, a strawberry moon, is the lowest-appearing strawberry moon that we've seen since 2006, and it won't be this low again until 2043.

With tonight's forecasted clear skies, viewing of the strawberry moon should be pretty spectacular. The nighttime temperatures should be agreeable, too. Northern Illinois is looking at an overnight low temperature tonight of 62 degrees, so there shouldn't be too much shivering as you find a good spot to check out the sky.

Let's get into when and where to look for the strawberry moon.

Before We Check The Viewing Time And Direction To Look, You May Be Wondering Why It's Called A Strawberry Moon (Even if you're not, I'm contractually obligated to tell you anyway)

According to Space.com, we have Native Americans and European settlers from hundreds of years ago to thank for the naming of each full moon of each and every month:

2025's full moons by name and date:

• January 13th: Wolf Moon
• February 12th: Snow Moon
• March 14th: Worm Moon
• April 12th: Pink Moon
• May 12th: Flower Moon
• June 11th: Strawberry Moon
• July 10th: Buck Moon
• August 9th: Sturgeon Moon
• September 7th: Corn Moon
• October 6th: Harvest Moon
• November 5th: Beaver Moon
• December 4th: Cold Moon

The name "strawberry moon" is not a reference to the color of the moon, although it could take on an orange-ish yellow color when it's very near to the horizon.

Space.com:

Rather, the evocative name is thought to have been coined by the Native American Algonquian tribes in reference to the short strawberry harvesting season that falls around this time of year.

If You'd Like To Take A Look For Yourself Tonight, Here's What To Do

We've been lucky with some of our recent celestial activity because we haven't had to stay up super late or get up really early to see the recent meteor showers and eclipses.

However, for a good look at the strawberry moon tonight (actually tomorrow morning), you'll have to choose between a late bed time or a very early wake up.

For stargazers in Northern Illinois, assuming you want to see the moon's peak brightness, you should have yourself in a good spot looking skyward at 2:44 am (CDT) for the absolute best brightness. Earlier in the evening tonight you may catch the moon rising, where it will seem extremely large.