May 8-11, 2025: The Flower moon moves eastward passing Spica in the southeast after sundown.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Flower Moon
The moon reaches the Full phase on May 12th at 11:56 a.m. Central Time, when it is below the horizon in the western hemisphere. Before sunrise, it is in the southwestern sky. This month’s bright moon is known as the Flower Moon. In the Americas, the night of May 11/12 is closest to the moment when the moon is opposite the sun.
Flower Moon Advances Eastward
Here’s what to see an hour after sunset as the moon advances eastward:
- May 8: The bright gibbous moon, 88% illuminated, is less than halfway up in the south-southeast. It is 4.5° to the lower right of Porrima, also known as Gamma Virginis. Porrima is a double star, two stars that revolve around a common center every 171 years. They can be seen through a telescope at higher magnifications.
- May 9: The moon, 94% illuminated and 30° above the southeast horizon, is 2.6° to Spica’s upper right, Virgo’s brightest star. The lunar orb occults the star later tonight for sky watchers in Micronesia and southwestern Polynesia. This is the 13th of 20 Spica occultations that occur through November.
- May 10: 98% illuminated, the moon is over 20° above the southeast horizon, less than halfway from Spica to Zubenelgenubi, part of Libra.
- May 11: On the night of the Full moon, the lunar orb is above the southeast horizon 4.7° to the lower right of Zubenelgenubi.
Look for the bright moon appear farther eastward each clear evening.
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