How to watch the 'strawberry moon' eclipse from anywhere this weekend
The partial penumbral lunar eclipse wasn't visible in North America, but you can still view the full moon's quiet beauty online.
Get ready to look to the night sky on Friday. A full "strawberry moon" is on the calendar, and it coincided with an understated partial eclipse for some parts of the world. While the moon was at its absolute fullest on Friday around noon PT, you'll have several other opportunities to revel in the view. The moon will still look full through early Sunday morning, according to NASA.
North America missed the eclipse, but the Virtual Telescope Project livestreamed the lunar event from Italy. If you didn't catch it live, you can watch the replay and enjoy an image of the strawberry moon shared by the Virtual Telescope Project founder, astrophysicist Gianluca Masi.
A penumbral eclipse is much more subtle than a total eclipse. The moon slips through the Earth's outer (penumbral) shadow, which can trigger a slight darkening of the moon. If you didn't know it was happening, you might miss it. A partial penumbral eclipse like the one on Friday makes it even harder to spot a difference.
Denizens of the moon, however, would notice the effects. "For spacecraft at the moon such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the reduction in solar power is noticeable," NASA said.
Unfortunately, the "strawberry" nickname for the June full moon doesn't refer to a color, but seems to be an old reference to the strawberry harvest season. NASA's Gordon Johnston rounded up a list of alternative names for this month's moon, including mead moon, honey moon, hot moon and planting moon.
Even if the eclipse passed you by, you can still take a moment to bask in the light of a lovely full moon this weekend.
