May 2026 Blue Moon: Flower Moon rises Friday as micromoon

May 2026 blue moon watchers get their first look on Friday 1 May, when the Flower Moon rises as daylight fades and appears as a micromoon. It will sit low in the eastern sky before climbing toward the south-east as midnight approaches.

The Moon will cross the southern sky and set off to the south-west around dawn. A second full Moon will come at the tail end of May, making this month notable for both the Flower Moon and a rare Blue Moon.

Flower Moon over the UK

The Flower Moon name comes from Native American seasonal naming traditions and was later popularised through sources such as the Farmer's Almanac. This year, the full Moon will appear slightly smaller than usual because it is near apogee, the farthest point from Earth in its orbit.

A micromoon looks smaller in the sky and may be a touch less bright than average. By comparison, a supermoon happens when the full moon is near perigee, its minimum distance from Earth.

Bay of Biscay weather

Low pressure in the Bay of Biscay is expected to drift closer to the UK on Thursday and Friday, bringing a chance of showers, initially focused on western regions. Patchy cloud may reduce opportunities for unbroken viewing.

The distance gap between apogee and perigee is roughly 363,000km to about 406,000km, which is why the same full Moon can look different from one month to another. For readers planning to watch, the clearest window comes just after moonrise on Friday 1 May, before cloud cover becomes the main obstruction.

Tail end of May

A second full Moon in a single month is called a Blue Moon, and it happens once every two to three years. This month’s late full Moon gives May 2026 blue moon watchers a second chance, but the first view on Friday remains the one tied to the Flower Moon and the micromoon.