Just when you thought the flood of Instagram posts of the sky was over, it looks like the phones will be held back up for a snap tonight (23 May).
But it won’t be of the colours of the Northern Lights glowing across the UK. Instead, it will be of a special full moon glowing in the sky.
May’s full Moon will appear in the sky tonight and is known as the ‘Flower Moon’. And for the Scorsese fans, yes it is linked to the 2023 film.
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What is the Flower Moon?
The Flower Moon is pretty much just the name given to the full Moon that occurs in May.
As reported by BBC Sky at Night Magazine, it’s said to have got its name as a reference to the month being the time when flowers really begin to bloom and spring is in full swing.
It’s just like how every other month’s full Moon has a little nickname, like the Pink and Wolf Moons.
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And the Killers of the Flower Moon book and film were inspired by the term ‘flower moon’ which marked the beginning of the Reign of Terror against the Osage Nation.
This happened back in the 1920s when white men murdered members of the tribe in the US to inherit their oil assets. It was native Americans who named the full moon the Flower Moon as they knew it was time to begin planting crops.
When is the best time to see the Flower Moon?
From the UK, this year’s Flower Moon will rise in the southeast and be visible from roughly 9:59pm tonight.
Sitting near the bright Antares, the Moon won’t rise very high in the sky, so you’ll need a clear horizon to see it.
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It will then move across the southern part of the sky before it sets in the southwest in the early hours, around dawn tomorrow.
Why will the Moon be changing colour tonight?
While it has got a pretty little name, the Flower Moon will just look like your regular old full Moon.
However, while that rises up into our skies, it will also appear next to the star Antares.
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Sitting about 600 light-years away from us, the star is a burning red ruby colour and is nearing the end of its life. When it runs out of fuel, it will of course collapse, becoming supernova and giving us a luminous explosion.
Jess Battison