Seen on the night of June 20, the full moon hangs like a plump berry near Saint Michael’s Tower on Glastonbury Tor, a famous hill in Somerset, England. While the moon was no bigger or brighter than normal, it was a rare sight nonetheless, because full moons don’t often coincide so closely with the June solstice.

This year the moon reached its full phase at 7:02 a.m. ET (11:02 UT) on June 20. About 12 hours later, Earth reached the official solstice, when the planet’s northern pole is tipped the most toward the sun.

In the Northern Hemisphere, this marks the start of summer, with the longest days and shortest nights of the year. In the south, the June solstice means