Naming the full moons

May 23, 4:18 p.m. EDT -- The Full Flower Moon.
Flowers are abundant everywhere. It was also known as the Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.

June 22, 12:14 a.m. EDT -- The Full Strawberry Moon.
Known to every Algonquin tribe. Europeans called it the Rose Moon.

July 21, 7:00 a.m. EDT -- The Full Buck Moon.
So-called because it is when the new antlers of buck deer push out from their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, thunderstorms being now most frequent. Sometimes also called the Full Hay Moon. The Moon will also be at perigee later this day, at 4:00 p.m., at a distance of 221,928 mi./357,158 km miles from Earth. Very high ocean tides can be expected from the coincidence of perigee with full Moon.

August 19, 1:53 p.m. EDT -- The Full Sturgeon Moon
So-called because it is when this large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water like Lake Champlain is most readily caught. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because the moon rises looking reddish through sultry haze, or the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.

September 17, 10:01 p.m. EDT -- The Full Harvest Moon.
Traditionally, this designation goes to the Full Moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal (Fall) Equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but every third year it occurs in October. At the peak of the harvest, farmers can work into the night by the light of this moon. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice -- the chief Indian staples -- are now ready for gathering.

October 17, 8:14 a.m. EDT -- The Full Hunter’s Moon.
With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the fields have been reaped, hunters can ride over the stubble, and can more easily see the fox, also other animals, which have come out to glean and can be caught for a thanksgiving banquet after the harvest. A very minor (6.8% coverage) partial eclipse of the Moon will take place between 7:34 and 8:32 a.m. EDT and will be visible from western and central sections of North America.

November 15, 7:58 p.m. EST -- The Full Beaver Moon.
Time to set beaver traps before the swamps freeze to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Beaver Full Moon come from the fact that the beavers are now active in their preparation for winter. Also called the Frosty Moon.

December 15, 11:15 a.m. EST -- The Full Cold Moon
Among some tribes, the Full Long Nights Moon. In this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and the nights are at their longest and darkest. Also sometimes called the Moon before Yule (Yule is Christmas, and this time the Moon is only just before it). The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long and the Moon is above the horizon a long time. The midwinter full Moon takes a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite to the low Sun.

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