{"id":407641,"date":"2026-05-02T01:30:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T01:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/407641\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T01:30:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T01:30:16","slug":"when-is-may-2026s-full-moon-why-tonights-is-a-flower-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/407641\/","title":{"rendered":"When Is May 2026\u2019s Full Moon? Why Tonight\u2019s Is a \u2018Flower Moon\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

A rare blue moon will light up the sky in May as part of a month that will feature two full moons. <\/p>\n

The inspiration for everything from the classic song \u201cBlue Moon\u201d to the nickname of an All-Star pitcher from the 1960s and \u201970s only comes along every two or three years, hence the phrase \u201conce in a blue moon.\u201d <\/p>\n

The opportunities for skywatchers start right away on May 1 with the first full moon of the month, which is known as the flower moon. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know. <\/p>\n

When Is the Best Time to Watch May’s Flower Moon? <\/p>\n

The first full moon of the month, known as the flower moon, reaches peak fullness at 1:23 p.m. ET on May 1, astronomer Catherine Pilachowski tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n

While that is in the middle of the day, the moon will still be at 99% illumination on the nights of May 1 and May 2, so any time after the moonrise in your area on those days is a great chance to see the flower moon. <\/p>\n

Cloud coverage and weather in your area could also affect viewing. <\/p>\n

Why Is It Called the Flower Moon?<\/p>\n

The flower moon’s name comes from the fact that the full moon coincides with flowers blooming in the spring across North America, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The term has been attributed to the Algonquin peoples, according to the almanac. <\/p>\n

Indigenous tribes also have other names for the flower moon, including Budding Moon (Cree); Frog Moon (Cree); Egg Laying Moon (Cree); Moon of Shedding Ponies (Oglala) and Planting Moon (Dakota, Lakota), according to the almanac. <\/p>\n

When Is the Best Time to Watch May’s Blue Moon? <\/p>\n

The blue moon will reach peak fullness at 4:45 a.m. ET on May 31, according to Pilachowski. That means any time late on May 30 and in the early hours of May 31 should provide a great view. <\/p>\n

It will be what is known as a \u201cmicromoon,\u201d which is the opposite of a super moon. It will occur when the moon is farthest from the Earth, so that it will appear about 6% to 7% smaller than the average full moon and 12% to 14% smaller than a super moon, per Pilachowski. <\/p>\n

The moon will be 252,360 miles from Earth during the blue moon on May 31, compared to its average distance of 238,855 miles, according to Pilachowski. <\/p>\n

Why Is It Called a Blue Moon? <\/p>\n

Pilachowski broke down the working definitions of the term blue moon. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a second full moon in any month, or a second full moon in a month of any season that has four full moons,\u201d she said. \u201cThe first is the definition most commonly used today but stems from some misunderstanding of the definition decades ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlue moons occur every two to three years,\u201d she continued. \u201cThey don\u2019t look blue, but the term apparently comes from a 16th Century idiom for something rare.\u201d <\/p>\n

The last blue moon was a blue supermoon in August 2024<\/a>, which is a rare occurrence that happens about every 10 years. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A rare blue moon will light up the sky in May as part of a month that will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[111,139,69,147,392],"class_list":["post-407641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}