May’s full moon highlights this week up in the sky

Taken last full moon on April 6th
Taken last full moon on April 6th(Warren G Faught)
Published: May. 1, 2023 at 12:36 AM EDT
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(WHSV) - The Full Flower Moon comes this week up in the sky along with another meteor shower peaking!

FULL FLOWER MOON

At 1:34 pm Friday, the Moon will reach its full stage for the fifth time this year. This full moon is commonly referred to as the Full Flower Moon as this is the time of the year lots of spring flowers start appearing. This full moon is also known as the Corn Planting Moon as its a common time of the year to start planting corn crops. Another name for this full moon is the Milk Moon. The best time to view this Full Moon will be Friday evening as the Moon rises in the east-southeastern sky at 8:28 pm. Cloud cover may play a factor, but there should be enough breaks in the clouds to view it at some point in the evening.

Our next Full Moon is Friday evening. Moon rises at 8:28 pm.
Our next Full Moon is Friday evening. Moon rises at 8:28 pm.(WHSV)

ETA AQUARIDS METEOR SHOWER PEAKS

Friday overnight, the Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower will peak. This meteor shower does produce more meteors than the peak of the Lyrids Meteor Shower which was back on April 22nd. The Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower at its peak time can produce up to 10-30 meteors per hour. The meteor shower however is going to be very hard to view. With the full moon, all but the brightest of meteors will be unviewable. Throw in plenty of cloud cover, and it will be very frustrating to view. To best see this meteor shower, go to a rural area that has less light pollution and look up in the sky after midnight. Meteors will originate in the east-southeastern sky but could appear anywhere up in the sky.

The Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower will peak Friday overnight.
The Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower will peak Friday overnight.(WHSV)

GAINING DAYLIGHT

This week, we will gain another 14 minutes of daylight. By May 8th, we will have 14 hours and 3 minutes of daylight and 9 hours and 57 minutes of nighttime. Sunrises will move from 6:18 am to 6:10 am while sunsets will move from 8:07 pm to 8:13 pm. Sunday May 7th we will start seeing 14 hours or more of daylight. That will continue for the next 3 months!

Daily Sunrise/Sunset Times this week:

DateSunriseSunsetDaylight
May 16:18 am8:07 pm13 hrs, 49 mins
May 26:17 am8:07 pm13 hrs, 50 mins
May 36:16 am8:08 pm13 hrs, 52 mins
May 46:15 am8:09 pm13 hrs, 54 mins
May 56:14 am8:10 pm13 hrs, 56 mins
May 66:13 am8:11 pm13 hrs, 58 mins
May 76:12 am8:12 pm14 hrs, 0 mins

ISS VIEWING (MOST VIEWABLE)

DateVisibleMax HeightAppearsDisappears
Mon May 1, 3:55 am2 min20°20° above NNW10° above NNE
Sun May 7, 5:32 am5 min18°10° above NNW10° above ENE

NEXT MOON PHASES

Moon PhasesDate and Time
Full MoonMay 5th, 1:34 pm
Third Quarter MoonMay 12th, 10:28 am
New MoonMay 19th, 11:53 am
First Quarter MoonMay 27th, 11:22 am

CURRENT PLANET VIEWING OPPORTUNITIES

Venus: In the western sky at sunset, sets before midnight in the northwest

Mars: In the west-southwestern sky at sunset, sets in the northwest just after 1 am

Jupiter: Nearly impossible to view, rises in the east about 20-30 minutes before sunrise, not in sky at sunset

Saturn: Not in the sky at sunset, limited viewing, rises in the sky around 3:30 am in the eastern sky

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