THERE will be a full Moon in the sky tonight and it's called a Strawberry Moon.

The sweet name is actually more to do with the fruit than the Moon itself, as Nasa has explained on its website.

Nasa wrote: "The Maine Farmer's Almanac first published "Indian" names for the full Moons in the 1930's.

"According to this Almanac, as the full Moon in June and the last full Moon of spring, the Algonquin tribes called this the Strawberry Moon.

"The name comes from the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries in the north-eastern United States."

An almanac is an annual publication that lists events.

People across the globe should be able to see the Moon looking vast and potentially pinkish.

June's full Moon is always particularly low in the sky, this can make it shine through more of the atmosphere than at other times in the year.

It won't technically be pink or red but, according to Nasa, its low position can sometimes give the full Moon a reddish or rose colour.

Similar to when a rising or setting Sun appears pinkish or red.

So its fruit-based name isn't technically anything to do with its colour but it may still look pinkish if you catch it as it rises or sets.

Try catching a glimpse after sunset to see if you notice any pinkness.

Another name given to the phenomenon is Mead Moon or the Honey Moon – a time when honey is ripe and ready to be harvested, potentially to be turned into mead.

The 1500s term "honeymoon" may be linked to this full Moon, referring to the first month after marriage.

The full Moon this evening will also coincide with a penumbral eclipse, which shows up as a slight shadow on the Moon's face.

Stargazers in parts of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia mat be able to spot the penumbral lunar eclipse if they look closely.

The UK won't have the best view and North America isn't expected to see it.

The subtle eclipse is caused by the Moon passing through part of Earth's shadow.

The Moon – our closest neighbour explained

Here's what you need to know…

• The Moon is a natural satellite – a space-faring body that orbits a planet
• It's Earth's only natural satellite, and is the fifth biggest in the Solar System
• The Moon measures 2,158 miles across, roughly 0.27 times the diameter of Earth
• Temperatures on the Moon range from minus 173 degrees Celcius to 260 degrees Celcius
• Experts assumed the Moon was another planet, until Nicolaus Copernicus outlined his theory about our Solar System in 1543
• It was eventually assigned to a "class" after Galileo discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610
• The Moon is believed to have formed around 4.51billion years ago
• The strength of its gravitational field is about a sixth of Earth's gravity
• Earth and the Moon have "synchronous rotation", which means we always see the same side of the Moon – hence the phrase "dark side of the Moon"
• The Moon's surface is actually dark, but appears bright in the sky due to its reflective ground
• During a solar eclipse, the Moon covers the Sun almost completely. Both objects appear a similar size in the sky because the Sun is both 400 times larger and farther
• The first spacecraft to reach the Moon was in 1959, as part of the Soviet Union's Lunar program
• The first manned orbital mission was Nasa's Apollo 8 in 1968
• And the first manned lunar landing was in 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission

In other space news, it recently emerged that an asteroid obliterated early human civilisations in a catastrophic collision with Earth 13,000 years ago.

Scientists recently discovered a "Super-Earth" 31 light-years away that humans could one day colonise.

And, distant planets may host even more life than we have here on Earth, according to one shock study.

Are you an avid fan of the Moon? Let us know in the comments…

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