Thursday 7th May at 10:45 will be the third and final Supermoon of 2020 and it is known as the full flower moon. It is also known as the May full moon, full milk moon, full corn planting moon. Whatever name you give it is always present near the constellation of Libra.
To find the constellation of Libra use a star map or a night sky app and search for one of the stars in the constellation like Beta Librae.
The moon will be at its fullest at 11.45am this morning, but it will not be visible in the UK at this time.
However, the moon will be at its most impressive before it sets this morning at around 5.42am and also after moonrise around 8.45pm later this evening. The supermoon will be 6% larger than normal and a whole 14% bigger than a micromoon (when the moon is farthest away from the earth).
Full moons are always opposite the sun, rising in the east as the sun sets, equally setting in the west at sunrise.
Just before sunrise for six mornings this week the moon’s orbital motion from west to east will carry it past three bright planets; Jupiter, Saturn and Mars (also Neptune, but you can’t see this with the naked eye). To help you tell the difference Jupiter will be bright white. To the left of Jupiter Saturn will be yellowish and Mars reddish.
You may even get the pleasure of seeing some of the Eta-Aquariids meteor shower which will be close to the Horizon. These meteors are appearing as the earth passes through the stream of debris leftover from Halley’s Comet (Halley’s comet is not visible and will not be until 2061). The shower runs from 19th April to 26th May and has it’s peak on the 6th May.
Looking at a full moon with the naked eye, binoculars or telescope can damage your eye and should be done with moon filters or similar.
Enjoy
Tom