COLUMBUS, Ohio — If you’ve noticed the sun rising a little earlier recently you’re not imagining things. The days get longer as we approach the summer solstice which is next week.
One thing you may not know is that the earliest sunrises of the year occur about a week before the solstice. This time of year a day (as measured from one midday sun to the next) is actually a little longer than 24 hours.
As a result, the earliest sunrises occur a little before the solstice while the latest sunsets happen a little after it. According to sunrise-sunset.org the sunrise on Sunday and Monday will be at 6:00:32.
The full moon also arrives on Tuesday morning. At 7:52 a.m. it’ll officially be full.
This month’s full moon is known as the Full Strawberry Moon because this is the time of year the strawberries are ripening up and ready to eat. It’s also known as the full Hot Moon.
Because the full moon coincides with the point at which the moon will be closest to the Earth in its orbit we call it a Supermoon. It’ll appear a little bigger and brighter than a typical full moon but you don’t really notice it when the moon is high in the sky.
The illusion is easier to see when the moon is near the horizon.
Speaking of the moon, it has a date with the ringed planet of Saturn on Saturday morning. Our satellites will be very close to each other with Jupiter and Mars hot far off of the pair.
Venus and Mercury won’t be far away but you’ll need a clear view of the horizon to catch the pair. The who show will stretch from the east to the southern sky.
Happy hunting!