Strawberry Moon, Jupiter Light Up Acadiana’s Summer Sky

This morning the drive into work was highlight by Mother Nature's light show. To the south, I could detect flashes of distant lightning from some offshore thunderstorms. Directly overhead was the bright light of the full moon. Just to one side of that full moon was another bright object, that's the planet Jupiter.

This is actually one of the best times in recent memory for amateur astronomers, such as myself, to catch a glimpse of our solar systems largest planet. Jupiter is at its closest approach to Earth. The planet will appear as a bright object fairly close to the moon. Keen observers might also be able to pick out four of Jupiters largest moons.

The full moon that we'll be experiencing for the next day or so is actually called the Strawberry Moon. It was dubbed that by early farmers who noted that the first full moon in June seemed to coincide with the strawberry harvest.

Other heavenly bodies making a guest appearance in the nighttime sky over Louisiana during the next few weeks are the planets Saturn, Mars, and Mercury. You can catch a glimpse of those celestial features right after sunset tonight and tomorrow night.