²Ñ²¹²â’s Full Moon is known as the Flower Moon, and it will be near the farthest point in its orbit around Earth, making it a Micro Flower Moon.
When to See the Micro Flower Moon?
²Ñ²¹²â’s Full Moon is at its most illuminated at 16:55 UTC on May 12, 2025.
However, the Moon always appears full in the days before and after peak illumination. Full Moon is the only phase where the Moon is up all night, with moonrise and moonset occurring around sunset and sunrise.
What Is a Micromoon?
A Micromoon is when a Full Moon or a New Moon coincides with apogee, the point in the Moon’s orbit farthest away from Earth. The Moon orbits Earth in an elliptical path, where one side of the path is closer to the Earth than the other.
The Full Flower Moon is near the point in its orbit where it’s farthest from Earth. At the moment of Full Moon, it will be around 405,278 kilometers (251,828 miles) away.
Just a Tad Smaller
A Micromoon is smaller than a normal Full Moon. Its angular size is 5.9%–6.9% smaller than an average Full Moon and 12.5%–14.1% smaller than a Super Full Moon (in years 1550–2650).
Most of the time it won’t look any smaller to the naked eye. In fact, it may seem bigger because of an optical trick known as the Moon illusion, where the Moon appears larger when it’s close to the horizon.
