May's full moon, the Flower Moon, rises on Friday 1 May and turns officially full at 12:23 p.m. EDT. A second full Moon follows at the end of the month, giving skywatchers two chances to see a full Moon in May.
Flower Moon on May 1
The Flower Moon will rise as daylight fades and appear low in the eastern sky before climbing toward the south-east as midnight approaches. It will cross the southern sky through the night and set toward the south-west around dawn.
The name Flower Moon comes from Native American seasonal naming traditions and was later popularised through sources such as the Farmer's Almanac. This year's Moon will be a micromoon because it reaches fullness close to apogee, the farthest point from Earth in its orbit.
A micromoon appears slightly smaller in the sky and may look a touch less bright than average. The gap between apogee and perigee is roughly 363,000km to about 406,000km, and a supermoon occurs when a full Moon is near perigee instead.
May 31 Blue Moon
If the Flower Moon is missed at the beginning of the month, the next full moon after it will be May 31's blue moon. A second full Moon in a single month is known as a Blue Moon, and it happens once every two to three years.
The best night to watch the blue moon will be on May 30, when it rises shortly after sunset. May will deliver two full moons in a single month, a rare pairing that gives observers two separate evening views instead of one.
Low pressure in the Bay of Biscay is expected to drift closer to the UK around Thursday and Friday and bring a chance of showers. For readers hoping to catch the Flower Moon, that makes the first clear break in the weather the practical window to watch it rise.
