Strawberry Moon will be on show from 8pm tonight

Tonight and throughout this weekend the stunning Strawberry Moon will be in the sky for stargazers to see.

The moon, that will start rising tonight at around 8pm, will rise in the east and set in the south - and if skies are clear will be visible for the whole night.

A strawberry moon, is not named after its colour, but after the time of year - such as the Harvest Moon.

Zoltan Toth-Czifra, founder of Under Lucky Stars, said: "This year has been full of astronomical events with the supermoons over the past few months and it doesn't end there.

"Tonight the rare Strawberry Moon will rise and be visible each night over this weekend.

"To make sure you catch it, the moon can be seen rising tonight at around 8pm, it will then burn brightly throughout the night. Moons always rise in the east and set in the west - so follow this direction in your search.

"Unfortunately unlike its name, the moon won't be red or pink in colour! But it will be a breath-taking full moon, so you may even see it cast moon shadows on the ground.

"This moon is named Strawberry Moon as a reference to the time of harvesting strawberries in North America, originally from Native American tribes who used the moon as an indicator of when the fruit would be ripe.

"In the current climate, a lower than average level of pollution combined with a good weather forecast means the view will be even clearer. As always, the moon will affect the Earth's ocean, and the extra gravitational pull means we should brace ourselves for some spectacular tides worldwide."

Here are some top tips from Under Lucky Stars on stargazing from home with no equipment:

• Allow time - When you decide to stargaze, allow enough time. Your eyes are surrounded by brightness all day, and when they are looking for something they need time to adjust. Allow at least 30 minutes to see results when you are staring into space and you’ll be seriously impressed by the results.
• Turn it off - Before you head into the garden, turn off all the lights in your house. Artificial brightness from light sources makes it harder to view the stars in the sky, so make your surrounding area as dark as possible.
• If you can’t turn it off, wait - Bear in mind that turning off the lights means all the surrounding area. The moon is the brightest thing in the sky at night, and any glare can make it harder to observe the sky. Choosing moonless nights or ones where the moon is just a sliver is optimum for spotting the most stars.
• Plan ahead - If you want to seriously stargaze, you will need some directions. A great constellation to start with is Orion’s belt. You can find it by looking for the three bright stars that form a straight line in the sky, then use this as a starting point to discover more https://earthsky.org/sky-archive/use-orions-belt-to-find-two-other-stars-2006.

You can find out more information about these events and future 2020 sightings on the Under Lucky Stars blog.

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