Overview
- The Full Flower Moon arrives May 1, with its brightest moment in daytime for much of the U.S., yet it will still look full at moonrise this evening.
- NASA estimates the moon’s distance at about 249,180 miles near apogee, which is why this full moon qualifies as a micromoon.
- Best viewing comes at dusk as the moon rises low in the east and can look orange due to light scattering in the thick atmosphere near the horizon.
- The name Flower Moon refers to spring blooms across North America, and a Blue Moon later in May simply means a second full moon within the same month.
- Both of May’s full moons occur near apogee, so each will appear a bit smaller and slightly dimmer than an average full moon.