Scorpio Full Moon, explained

May’s sky features not one but two full moons as well as the dazzling Eta Aquarids meteor shower. Scorpio Full Moon has emerged this Saturday as one of the stories drawing attention in Pakistan.

Key facts

• May’s sky features not one but two full moons as well as the dazzling Eta Aquarids meteor shower.
• A micromoon is a full or new moon that occurs when the moon is roughly at its farthest from Earth in its orbit.
• Last month, Artemis II launched right around the time of the April 1st Full Moon, sending astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years and giving us some spectacular new views of our closest neighbor.
• And now, May ends with another lunar moment: a Full Moon on May 31st.
• For instance, in 2026, according to Fred Espenak’s AstroPixels website, we have a micromoon with the full Flower Moon of May 1 … but not all sources consider this quite distant enough to be a micromoon.

What we know

Going deeper, a micromoon is a full or new moon that occurs when the moon is roughly at its farthest from Earth in its orbit.

On the substance, Last month, Artemis II launched right around the time of the April 1st Full Moon, sending astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years and giving us some spectacular new views of our closest neighbor.

Beyond the headlines, And now, May ends with another lunar moment: a Full Moon on May 31st.

More precisely, For instance, in 2026, according to Fred Espenak’s AstroPixels website, we have a micromoon with the full Flower Moon of May 1 … but not all sources consider this quite distant enough to be a micromoon.

It is worth noting that In fact, the full moon at the end of May will be 2026’s most distant full moon of the year.

By the numbers

At this stage, both sources agree the full Strawberry Moon of June 29 is a micromoon.

On a related note, But it’s safe to say that a full micromoon appears about 12-14% smaller than a full supermoon (an exceptionally close full moon).

Going deeper, a full micromoon appears about 7% smaller than a full moon at an average distance.

On the substance, the late Fred Espenak’s great Astropixels website lists three full micromoons for 2026 (May 1, May 31 and June 29).

The wider context

On a related note, Meanwhile, Timeanddate.com lists just two full micromoons for 2026 (May 31 and June 29).

Going deeper, Depending on your definition, 2026 has either two or three full micromoons.

On the substance, Read: 1st May full moon is a Flower Moon and micromoon.

Beyond the headlines, the night sky brims with spectacles this May, from a meteor shower and planet-moon conjunctions to not one but two full moons.

More precisely, May’s full moon is named for the month’s abundance of blossoms.

The bottom line

• A micromoon is a full or new moon that occurs when the moon is roughly at its farthest from Earth in its orbit.
• Both sources agree the full Strawberry Moon of June 29 is a micromoon.
• A full micromoon appears about 7% smaller than a full moon at an average distance.