The Full Moon Flower Moon rises at sunset on May 1, and it reaches 100% illumination at 1:23 p.m. EDT, or 1723 GMT. When it climbs low over the horizon, it may take on a yellow-orange hue. By dawn on May 2, it will set in the southwest.
This month’s full moon carries the Flower Moon name, a traditional label that reflects the blooms spreading across the northern hemisphere as spring deepens. It also comes during a micromoon, because the Moon is close to its most distant point from Earth in its near-monthly elliptical orbit. That can make it look subtly smaller than average, with a span of 29.72 arcminutes instead of the usual 31 arcminutes.
The timing matters because the Moon does not keep a simple calendar. It takes roughly 29.5 days to move through its four key phases, which is why most years bring 12 full moons but some bring 13. May also ends with a second full moon on May 31, known to some as a Blue Moon. The first full moon in a calendar month keeps its traditional name, while the second gets the Blue Moon label.
So the answer is straightforward: the May 1 moon is both a Flower Moon and a micromoon, and the month closes with another full moon on May 31. For skywatchers, May offers two chances to look up, but the first one carries the more familiar name and the more unusual size.