May's flower moon lights up the sky around the globe
If you’re looking to watch something out of this world while quarantined at home, turn off the TV and look up at the sky.
2020's full flower moon is on display from the heavens above and the incredible lunar shots from around the globe might leave you starstruck.
The moon appeared fullest at 6:45 a.m Thursday and will be visible until Friday morning.
NASA has termed the flower moon "super," but the Farmer's Almanac, a periodical known for publishing full moon dates and lore, has been careful to point out the celestial body's conditions don't quite meet a "super" threshold as the moon fell short of the distance needed this orbiting cycle and wasn't completely full when it was closest to Earth.
Although not an official astronomical distinction, the term "supermoon" was initially coined to describe extreme full moon orbits only, a distance of 221,472 miles or less from Earth. May's flower moon is roughly 2,000 miles short of that, according to Farmer's Almanac, although the designation has been used to describe full moons that reach 90% of that distance in more recent times.
The flower moon comes on the heels of April's supermoon, the biggest and brightest moon of 2020.
The Maine Farmer’s Almanac first published names for moons in the 1930s, attributing the terms to how Native American tribes tracked seasons. "Flower moon" was used for May given the abundance of flowers that bloom throughout the month in North America.
Normally there are 12 full moons in a year. Two will take place in October, with the second happening on Halloween to make for a spooky blue moon indeed.
