There’s a full moon in the sky over Beaufort this weekend. May’s full moon is typically known as the flower moon because of all the blooms this month. This year it coincides with a rare occurrence…a blue moon.
To catch the blue flower moon, look up in the night sky over the Lowcountry on Saturday. The moon will be at its fullest at 5:11pm eastern standard time.
Of course, Saturday’s moon won’t actually be blue. And the reason for the name is a little confusing.
A blue moon is the second of two full moons in a month, but it can also be the third of four full moons during a single season.
In this weekend’s case, it’s the third of four full moons this spring. These don’t occur as often as two full moons in a month. in face, it won’t happen again until we’re in the year 2048, when a monthly blue moon falls on January 31st, and a seasonal Blue Moon on August 23rd.
The first full moon of each month has a special name. We have a worm moon as a full moon in April and a wolf moon as a full moon in January. The full moon of May is known as flower moon to signify the flowers that bloom during the month.
There is a myriad of wildflowers which bloom in May in the Northern Hemisphere, where these traditional full moon names originated. For example, many types of anemone, azaleas, indigo, bluebells, lupine, sundrops, and violets, to name just a few. It’s no wonder that the colorful displays these flowers create in nature have inspired people to name this time after them.
Other names for May’s brightest moon phase are corn planting moon, mother’s moon and milk moon.
Enjoy a bright night on Saturday, and watch out for the tides too. We live in a low-lying area surrounded by water and king tides are very common with the full moon.
Cover photo courtesy Kelley Luikey, Nature Muse Imagery
