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May Flower Blue Moon is Tonight

by Weatherboy Team Meteorologist - May 18, 2019

The night of May 18 will feature a blue moon.
The night of May 18 will feature a blue moon.




If clouds don’t interfere with your view, you’ll be treated to a great  view of a full moon tonight. For a variety of reasons, the moon is considered a “Flower Blue Moon”; however, it should look like any other full moon.

Typically, a “blue moon” describes the second full moon within a calendar month. Because most months only have a single full moon, the more rare second full moon has been known as a “blue moon” since the 1930s, giving rise to the expression “once in a blue moon.”

However, the “blue moon” can describe another full moon that is expected tonight. Usually, a full moon occurs 12 times in a year, with 3 happening in each of the four seasons. However, in some cases, there are 13 full moons during the year.  This means that one of the seasons will feature 4 full moons instead of the usual 3. In the odd seasons 4 full moons occur, the final moon is still called the “late moon.” But the next to last full moon is known as the “blue moon” too. Because this spring features four full moons, tonight’s will be considered a blue moon.




The full moon in May usually occurs when spring flowers are in bloom. Because of that, it also earns the moniker “flower moon.” With it being both a flower and blue moon, tonight’s moon is called the “May Flower Blue Moon.”

While the moon has a fancy nickname tonight, it won’t appear any different from other full moons during the year. Unlike “supermoons” that appear a bit larger due to them being a bit closer, tonight’s moon is your run-of-the-mill full moon.

 

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