May skywatching guide: From meteor showers to micromoons, here is what to look up for
- May will bring celestial wonders such as a Full Flower Micromoon, the Eta Aquariids meteor shower, and a New Moon supermoon, offering skywatchers a variety of stunning displays.
Each month of the year brings skywatchers a new set of celestial wonders to marvel at, and May is no exception.
Be on the lookout for another meteor shower , full moons — which may appear slightly smaller than usual — and a super new moon , as the trend of stunning displays continues.
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Here is everything you can look forward to this month.
The month of May will start off big—or should we say small—with a Full Flower Micromoon on May 1.
A micromoon occurs when the moon is at its farthest point from Earth in its orbit, known as apogee.
According to EarthSky.org , it will be about 249,793 miles away, compared to the moon’s average distance of 238,900 miles.
Because of this increased distance, the moon may appear slightly smaller and dimmer than usual; hence the name "micromoon."
In the sky, it will rise low in the east around sunset, reach its highest point around midnight, and then set in the west shortly before sunrise on May 2.
The Eta Aquariids meteor shower is projected to peak before dawn on May 5.
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The Planetary Society describes the appearance of the meteors as "fast streaks and glowing ‘trains’ of debris, rather than big fireballs."
Visibility is usually better in the Southern Hemisphere; however, Northern Hemisphere viewers can still expect to see about 10 to 30 meteors per hour under perfect dark skies, though the 2026 moon will likely wash out all but the brightest ones.
Opposite to a micromoon, a supermoon typically appears brighter than the average moon.
According to EarthSky.org, a supermoon exceeds the disk size of the average-sized moon by 8%, and with brightness by roughly 16%. It also exceeds the disk size of micromoon by up to 14% and its brightness by roughly 30%.
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However, the supermoon occurring on May 16 also happens to be a New Moon, meaning it will be positioned between the Earth and the sun and remain invisible to the naked eye, despite the closer proximity to Earth .
On May 31, the sky will be graced with another micromoon, the full blue micromoon.
Nasa notes that blue moons are relatively rare because they refer to the second full moon occurring within a single month—hence the origin of the phrase, "once in a blue moon."
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This happens when the lunar cycles don’t line up with the length of the calendar months.
With that, keep your eyes on the sky this month—you never know what you might catch!
Original article source: May skywatching guide: From meteor showers to micromoons, here is what to look up for
