May Full Flower Moon To Reach Its Peak Tomorrow as It Appears Next to Antares; Here’s How To Witness the Cosmic Display

The Full Flower Moon of 2024 will bloom in the night sky this week and will showcase its dazzling display for three days.

Flower Moon in Bloom

On May 22, skygazers witnessed a preview of the Flower Moon which rose just a few minutes before sunset. During this time, people in the American continents cast their eyes to the east in order to observe this event.

However, the main cosmic event will occur on May 23 when the moon appears next to Antares, which is located about 600 light years away. According to NASA, the moon will appear on Thursday, May 23, at 9:35 ET and will reach its peak 50 minutes after sunset.

May's full moon is known as Flower Moon, a term used to refer to its appearance in late spring during a time when flowering plants begin to bloom again after the cold winter season. According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, moonrise will take place at around 8:35 pm ET Thursday. Then it will cross the meridian at 1:14 am before finally setting at 5:46 am on Friday morning.

Although the dazzling display will take place in three days, the best time to view the moon is at night on May 22 and 23, when it is located below the horizon during its peak in some regions. In some parts of the world, the full moon will come so close to Antares that the bright star will appear to vanish behind the moon.

What Is a Flower Moon?

The term 'flower moon' is believed to have originated among the Algonquin people who live in Canada and parts of the northeastern U.S., although ancient tribes used other creative names for May's full moon, which marks the arrival of warmer weather and the new life that grows during the spring.

The celestial event was named by the Native Americans as a signal of the time of the year when they would start planting crops. Also known as 'Mother's Moon,' the Flower Moon coincides with the blooming of flowers in May, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.

In the old English language, the event is termed "milk moon" in reference to the archaic English word for the month we currently call May. During the 8th century, St. Bede the Venerable referred to the month of May as the time of three milkings since the Medieval people believed that cows could be milked at least three times a day in late spring.

The Cree people of the North Plains in Canada referred to May's full moon as "frog moon", likely inspired from the spring peeper frog and its birdlike sound. Meanwhile, the people of Dakota and Lakota of the US Great Plains called the celestial event the "planting moon" to signal the agricultural practice of planting in the spring for a bountiful harvest.

The Flower Moon also played a minor role in a dark period of US history. It was used to refer to the beginning of the Reign of Terror against the Osage Nation in the 1920s when members of their tribe were murdered by white men to get hold of their oil assets. This historical event was the inspiration for the 2017 book, 'Killer of the Flower Moon,' which was written by journalist David Grann and was later adapted as a Martin Scorse movie.