By Radmila Topalovic
The apparent size of the Moon at its closest point to the Earth (perigee) vs its farthest point (apogee)
NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Moon as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. Taken from Minneapolis, USA. By Tomruen - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53147136
The Moon as seen from the Southern Hemisphere. Taken from Observatorio Astronómico Los Molinos in Uruguay. Fedaro, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Friend, colleague, relative, partner, soulmate…the types of relationships we have are varied and numerous, short term and lifelong, often complicated. We all have a relationship with the Moon, a constant presence for our entire lives. The crew of NASA’s inspirational Artemis mission are visiting the Moon again, last seen up close by Apollo astronauts in 1972.
The month of May brings us much needed warmer weather, it also treats us to two Full Moons, making an appearance on the 1st and 31st May this year. The first is commonly known as the Flower Moon, named after the burst of flowers seen in the northern hemisphere in late Spring. It is also called the Budding Moon, Planting Moon and Egg Laying Moon by Native Americans; Anglo-Saxons called it the Milk Moon because they milked their cows three times a day during this time of year.
The Flower Moon coincides with May Day, an ancient European festival with origins reaching back to Roman times. May Day celebrates the start of summer, halfway between the vernal equinox (20th March) and the summer solstice (21st June). In the UK some towns and villages celebrate with dancing, dressing up in green and the crowning of a May Queen. They’ll have plenty of moonlight this year as they party into the night.
The end of the month brings a Blue Moon - a rare second Full Moon in a month - giving rise to the phrase ‘once in a blue moon’. This happens roughly every 2 to 3 years, because the lunar phase cycle is only 29 and a half days. Unfortunately, we won’t see the Moon actually turn blue and it won’t be quite as spectacular as the Flower Moon. The Moon’s proximity to the Earth varies during its orbit, by as much as 50,000 kilometres. On 31st May we will see a micromoon, smaller in the sky than average. The biggest and brightest supermoon (when the Moon is closest to us) will appear on 24th December, a celestial Christmas gift for many.
I often get asked about whether the Moon impacts our lives and behaviour. The word lunacy comes from the Latin lunaticus (meaning the Moon); in 18th and 19th century England murderers could plead for leniency if there had been a Full Moon on the night of the killing, claiming lunacy. The human female menstrual cycle has on average a period of around 28 days, the word menstruation derives from mensis, the Latin for month, also mene, an old Greek word for Moon. There is no substantial evidence for the Moon affecting our fertility, mental state, turning us into werewolves or anything else, it does however play a significant role in the behaviour of some species.
Not long after the formation of the Moon, days on Earth were only 5 or 6 hours long and the Moon was much closer to Earth. The Moon has gradually been climbing away from Earth (the romance has gone after four and a half billion years), taking the energy it needs from the Earth’s spin, consequently lengthening our days. The Moon (and Sun) gives us our tides, these were a thousand times higher several billions of years ago and the Moon may have indirectly supported evolution of life in the water and possibly on land. The Moon continues to influence behaviour of many species of marine life. They use moonlight and the tides for feeding, spawning, egg laying and nesting. The Moon, where would we be without our lifelong partner?
About the author
This blog was written by Radmila Topalovic, astronomer and co-author of Night Sky Almanac 2026, Stargazing, 2026 Guide to the Night Sky and more.
Explore more of Radmila's books here.