May brings not 1 full moon, but 2! It also brings a meteor shower linked to Halley’s Comet. The sky’s 2 brightest planets are heading toward a spectacular conjunction. Plus, Mars returns in earnest. And May evenings offer a rare opportunity to picture yourself inside our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Watch this video to learn more and make sure you don’t miss a thing.
The Flower Moon falls on May 1
There are two full moons in May 2026. The 1st – on May 1 – is the Flower Moon. The 2nd full moon falls on May 30-31 and is a Blue Moon.
Also, the 1st full moon of May is the 1st micromoon of the year. That is, it’s an exceptionally distant moon, in a far part of its orbit from Earth. It’ll be 249,793 miles (402,003 km) away, in contrast to the moon’s average distance of 238,900 miles (384,472 km). Will the moon look fainter to you around May 1? It might, because it’s farther away than usual.
The crest of this 1st May full moon falls at 17:23 UTC on May 1. That’s 12:23 p.m. CDT on May 1. So the moon will look full and round on both April 30 and May 1, and probably (to most people) on May 2 as well.
So look for the bright, round full Flower Moon rising low in the east at sunset around May 1. It’ll reach its highest point in the sky around midnight. And it’ll lie low in the west shortly before sunrise on May 2.
One last note. This 1st full moon of May 2026 falls on May Day, which is a cross-quarter day. May Day lies about midway between the March equinox and the June solstice. The other cross-quarter days are Groundhog Day (February 2), Lammas (August 1), and Halloween (October 31).
Why the Flower Moon?
All the full moons have names.
Popular names for May’s full moon include the Planting Moon and the Milky Moon. But Flower Moon is probably the most commonly heard of May’s full moon names.
As you might expect, the name Flower Moon recognizes the blooming of wildflowers and garden flowers. Go outside and look at them in the light of May’s full moon. Beautiful!
From the Southern Hemisphere
Via Daniel Gaussen, Founder & Guide – Stargaze Mackenzie – New Zealand
The name Flower Moon is also commonly used in the Southern Hemisphere, despite the fact that the seasons between Earth’s north and south hemispheres are reversed. South of Earth’s equator, May falls in autumn rather than spring. But, despite this mismatch, the same moon-naming system remains widely used across Earth, due to its historical spread … especially now that we have an internet!
Full moon is a whole-Earth event. The moon crests at the same moment for all of us. But our clocks say different times. Plus, observers in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere will see May’s full moon arc across their northern sky throughout the night (same as the sun in daytime). From the Northern Hemisphere, the moon arcs across the southern sky (also same as the sun).
And here’s another difference. For southerners going north – or northerners going south – the familiar lunar features of a full moon appear upside down!
Many Indigenous cultures in the Southern Hemisphere have their own knowledge systems based on the moon. In New Zealand, the Maramataka is a lunar calendar developed by Maori ancestors to track time and guide activities according to the phases of the moon and the stars.
Bottom line: The 1st May full moon – the Flower Moon – happens on May 1. It’ll look full on the nights before and after that, too. The 2nd May full moon – a Blue Moon – will fall on May 30-31.
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More from
John Jardine Goss
April full moon is the Pink Moon overnight on April 1
Watch for the February full moon – or Snow Moon – on February 1
January full moon: Super Wolf Moon near Jupiter and perihelion
August full moon on August 8-9 is the Sturgeon Moon
