The Flower Moon is coming<\/p>\n
The Flower Moon<\/a> is the nickname given to the full Moon that rises in May, which in 2026 is visible on Friday 1st May just after sunset.<\/p>\n The term ‘Flower Moon’ is an historic reference to the fact that May’s full Moon rises at the height of spring, when flowers are abloom.<\/p>\n This full Moon will rise in the southeast, just as the Sun is setting on the northwest horizon, and will then climb to the southeast as midnight approaches.<\/p>\n The Flower Moon will be visible in the constellation Libra, just below Virgo and its ‘Bowl of Virgo<\/a>‘ star pattern.<\/p>\n The Moon will track across the southern region of the sky, setting in the southwest in the early hours around dawn.<\/p>\n You may already have spotted the bright, nearly-full Moon this week during the early evening, before the Sun has even set.<\/p>\n The Moon is often visible in the daytime<\/a>, and this happens during the phases leading up to and just after new Moon<\/a>, when the Moon is close to the Sun in the sky.<\/p>\n Tonight, Wednesday 29 April, as something of a build-up to the Flower Moon rising, the Moon will be close to Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, in the evening sky.<\/p>\n Spica will be to the Moon’s left, and the pair will be visible in the south just after sunset.<\/p>\n Of course, the Moon and Spica aren’t actually close together. In reality, Spica is about 250 lightyears from Earth, while the Moon is our closest celestial companion.<\/p>\n Spica isn’t even our closest star, but it is one of the brightest stars in the spring night sky.<\/p>\n While the distant stars don’t really change position to any noticeable degree from one night to the next, the Moon does track eastward across the sky each evening.<\/p>\n That’s why the Moon appears to hop along the sky, meeting other bright objects along the way.<\/p>\n We call these apparent meetings between two bright objects ‘conjunctions<\/a>‘, and they can often involve the Moon next to a bright planet like Venus, or next to a bright star like Spica.<\/p>\n If you’ve enjoyed seeing the Moon and Spica tonight, there’s another, albeit more tricky, conjunction visible this weekend, very late on Saturday 2 May and into the early hours of Sunday, before dawn.<\/p>\n Find yourself a clear horizon, spot the Moon in the south and, to its left you’ll see Antares<\/a>, the brightest star in Scorpius<\/a>.<\/p>\n This will be tricky to spot because it will require a late night of stargazing, but also because you’ll need a clear southern horizon, as the pair will be low-down in the sky.<\/p>\n![\"Flower](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/flower-moon-stonehenge.jpg\")
Flower Moon of 2021 over Stonehenge. Credit: Finnbarr Webster \/ Stringer \/ Getty Images
\nThe Moon and Spica tonight<\/p>\n![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/moon-spica-12-april-2025.jpg\")
Illustration showing the Moon near Spica. Credit: Stellarium<\/p>\n![\"chart](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/star-antares-chart-2511e4c.jpg\")
Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/p>\n