• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Full moon will bloom in the night sky today and you don't want to miss it

Home> News> US News

Published 10:20 23 May 2024 GMT+1

Full moon will bloom in the night sky today and you don't want to miss it

The Flower Moon can be seen at its peak illumination today and here's how you can catch a glimpse

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

You can catch a look at a full moon today as the Flower Moon takes to the skies and here's how.

Turn off your lights, retire your disco ball and forget your flashing LEDs, because you won't need any of those artificial lights today as the Flower Moon is coming out to party.

What is the Flower Moon?

The Flower Moon is the name given to the Full Moon in May because of the month being in spring and the title signifying 'the flowers that bloom during this month,' TimeandDate.com explains.

Advert

Other names come from Old English names alongside Native American tribes' naming and include the Planting Moon, Milk Moon, Budding Moon, Laying Moon, Planting Moon and some even call it the Hare Moon.

The Moon has also been called the Corn or Corn Planting Moon. You get the gist, it happens in spring.

Prepare to try and catch a glimpse of the Flower Moon today. (Getty Images/ Onkamon Buasorn)
Prepare to try and catch a glimpse of the Flower Moon today. (Getty Images/ Onkamon Buasorn)

Why the moon might look a slightly different color

May's full Moon is set to appear next to the bright star Antares.

Advert

While there may be little effect on the color of the Moon, some have reported it could end up appearing an orange-red color.

The Moon can also appear more red in tone when it moves into the inner part of Earth's shadow, NASA explains, with some of the 'sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere' hitting the Moon's surface and 'lighting it dimly'.

The Moon may appear a slightly different color (Getty Images/ Passion4nature)
The Moon may appear a slightly different color (Getty Images/ Passion4nature)

When is the best time to see the Flower Moon?

Well, if you do want to catch sight of the Flower Moon in all its glory, the full Moon will be able to be spotted in the sky at peak illumination this morning (May 23) at 9.53am EDT, according to the moon-lords themselves AKA NASA.

Advert

However, NASA adds: "The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Tuesday night through early Friday evening.

"Thursday night the bright star Antares will appear so close to the Moon that for the Washington, DC area, the Moon will pass in front of Antares, blocking it from view, although the brightness of the full Moon will make it difficult to see the star vanish behind the Moon."

If you're based in Oceania, 'this will be Friday morning from the Lord Howe Island time zone (just east of Australia) eastward across New Zealand and the Pacific to the International Date Line'.

And don't fret if you miss catching a glimpse of the moon this morning, because by this evening, as twilight ends at 9:30pm EDT, 'the rising Moon will be four degrees above the southeastern horizon with the bright star Antares just off the edge of the Moon' and if not, there's another full moon in June.

Advert

So get your celestial gear and glasses out, it's time to go moon-gazing.

Featured Image Credit: Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto via Getty Images, Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

Topics: Space, Nature, Science

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

12 hours ago
13 hours ago
  • 12 hours ago

    'Fridge cigarette' trend explained as Gen Z ditches traditional smoke breaks

    The new trend is taking TikTok by storm

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    Doctor reveals what you should never do in bed as he explains best way to beat insomnia

    Dr. Matthew Walker has offered some tips to curb insomnia and scrub up on your bedtime habits

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    FBI issues urgent warning to 150,000,000 US iPhone users to delete this text as soon as it appears

    Attacks on iPhones and Androids have surged more than 700 percent this month

    News
  • 13 hours ago

    Surprising meaning behind people who keep waking up at the same time every night

    It's surprisingly common

    News
  • Rare 'planet parade' when six planets align in the sky is set to happen very soon
  • How to see extremely rare 'planet parade' where six planets will align in the sky this week
  • Earth is getting another moon at the end of this month
  • Viewers in tears as cosmonaut who spent full year in space explains what he missed most about Earth