'Strawberry Moon’: The penumbral lunar eclipse

June 5 and 6 nights will be adorned by a "Strawberry Moon" - penumbral lunar eclipse, a noteworthy celestial event.

People from Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia will be able to witness the penumbral lunar eclipse on two nights. North American viewers will be out of luck - as it won't be visible from that part of the world. reports the astronomical news site Space.com.

This is the second lunar eclipse of 2020. The first eclipse was on January 10, which was also a penumbral lunar eclipse.

The name comes from Algonquin tribes of Native Americans. This full moon was their sign to harvest wild strawberries, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.

In Europe, it is called the Honey Moon or Mead Moon. The tradition of calling the first month of marriage the honeymoon may be tied to this full moon, either because of the custom of marrying in June or because the Honey Moon is considered the "sweetest" moon of the year, NASA said.

The time around the end of June was when honey was ripe and ready to be harvested from hives or from the wild, some writings have suggested, according to NASA. The word "honeymoon" traces back to at least the 1500s in Europe.

This eclipse will be what astronomers dub a "penumbral eclipse," which occurs when the outer ring of Earth's shadow just grazes the moon. During a partial eclipse, the moon falls somewhat into Earth's inner shadow; during a total lunar eclipse it falls entirely into that inner shadow.

But it will take a keen eye indeed to notice the penumbral darkening, which will just tint the lower edge of the moon at the midpoint of the eclipse.

The eclipse will also be geographically limited, visible only over central and east Africa, Eastern Europe, western and central Asia, and parts of Indonesia and Australia.

Best time to see the eclipse 

The peak of the full moon happens depending on one's time zone. At Bangladesh time 1:12 am on Saturday the moon will be at its full phase.

Peak time doesn't have to be the only viewing time. The moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from early Thursday morning into early Sunday morning, said NASA.

Should one miss the display, the summer promises another penumbral lunar eclipse on July 5, although that eclipse will be even fainter than this one. That one will be visible from North and South America, as well parts of Europe and most of Africa.

The June and July lunar eclipses are the second and third in a series of four penumbral lunar eclipses in 2020 that began on January 10. The fourth one will occur on November 30.

June will also bring skywatchers a second eclipse, this time an eclipse of the sun.

On June 21, the moon will pass in front of the sun as seen from Earth but won't completely cover the star, leaving a so-called "ring of fire" around its outer edge.

The annular eclipse, as its known, will be the first solar eclipse of 2020.