May's "flower" supermoon will grace the sky this Wednesday.
This supermoon will be the closest moon to Earth in 2021, according to EarthSky.
There are two to four supermoons each year. These lunar events are often a brilliant sight to see because they are brighter and larger than a normal full moon. The definition of a supermoon varies, but it's generally defined by how close the moon is to the Earth.
May's supermoon will also be the first total lunar eclipse since January 2019, according to EarthSky. It will take the moon just over three hours to cross through the Earth's shadow, but the actual lunar eclipse will last under 15 minutes.
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During the eclipse, the moon will have a reddish hue from the sunlight filtering through the Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA, so you can also refer to this month's event as a "blood moon."
Depending on your location, you may be able to get a glimpse of part of the eclipse. Most of North and South America will be able to see it in the early morning hours while eastern Asia and Australia will see it in the evening.
In the United States, the total eclipse will begin at 7:11 a.m. ET and end at 7:26 a.m. ET, but will be partially visible from 5:45 a.m. ET to 8:52 a.m. ET. To check if the eclipse will be available where you live, go to timeanddate.com.
The full moon is called the "flower" moon in May because it's when flowers blossom across North America, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.
Many Native American tribes across the country also took inspiration from spring's blossoms when naming May's full moon, according to the Western Washington University Planetarium.
The Anishnaabe tribe in the Great Lakes reason call the full moon "waabigwani-giizis" or "blossom moon." The Lakota tribe on the Northern Plains call it "canwape to wi" or "moon of the green leaves."
Some tribes named the moon after a popular red berry, with the Potawatomi tribe in the Great Lakes region calling it "te'minkeses" and the Shawnee tribe in the Midwest calling it "hotehimini kiishthwa," both of which translate to strawberry moon.
Typical of a normal year, 2021 has 12 full moons. (There were 13 full moons last year, two of which were in October.)
Here are all of the full moons and their names, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac:
What is the Flower Moon? A guide to full moon nicknames
January: Wolf Moon
The names for full moons, especially the most common ones adopted by the Old Farmer's Almanac, generally come from a combination of Native American and Colonial American terminology that have been passed down through generations.
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, January's full moon was named the Wolf Moon because wolves tend to howl more during this time period.
Other names: Moon After Yule, Old Moon, Ice Moon, and Snow Moon.
An airplane passes the full moon, known in the Farmers' Almanac as the "Wolf Moon," on its final approach to Los Angeles International Airport over Whittier, Calif. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
February: Snow Moon
February is generally the snowiest month of the year in North America, so its full moon was appropriately nicknamed the Snow Moon, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.
Other names: Hunger Moon, Storm Moon and Chaste Moon.
The full Snow Moon lights up the night sky over Lawrence, Kan., Friday, Feb. 10, 2017. February's full moon is so-named from Native American traditions because usually the heaviest snows fall in month. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
March: Worm Moon
March marks the end of winter, which is the first time earthworms start coming out of the ground. The Worm Moon in March is usually the last full moon before the spring equinox.
Other names: Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sap Moon, Sugar Moon, and Chaste Moon.
According to TimeandDate.com, the Old English or Anglo-Saxon name is the Lenten Moon.
The full moon rises above the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Saturday, March 19, 2011. The moon appeared larger as it made its closest approach to Earth in 18 years. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
April: Pink Moon
April's Pink Moon doesn't actually appear pink in the sky. It's named instead after the pink flowers – Wild Ground Phlox or Moss Phlox– that start showing up in early spring, according to TimeandDate.com.
April's full moon is also called the Paschal Full Moon in the Christian calendar. The Paschal Full Moon is the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox and is used to determine the date for Easter.
Other names: Sprouting Grass Moon, Fish Moon, Hare Moon, and Egg Moon
A view of the full pink moon, in Lakatamia a suburb of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, April 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
May: Flower Moon
May's full moon is simply named the Flower Moon due to the flowers that bloom during the month.
Other names: Corn Planting Moon and Milk Moon.
A full moon rises behind the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion, south east of Athens, Greece, while tourists watch, on Saturday, May 5, 2012. Saturday's event is a "supermoon," the closest and therefore the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)
June: Strawberry Moon
In North America, the name comes from Algonquin tribes of Native Americans. This full moon was their sign to harvest wild strawberries, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.
Other names: Honey Moon, Mead Moon, Full Rose Moon, Oak Moon, Cold Moon or Long Night Moon, according to EarthSky.org.
The nearly full moon rises in the background as a horse eat grass in a field in Bloomsburg, Pa., after the sunset Monday, June 16, 2008, following a thunder storm which moved across the region. (AP Photo/Bloomsburg Press Enterprise, Jimmy May)
July: Buck Moon
Antlers generally start showing up on male deer during July, giving the month's full moon the name Buck Moon.
Other names: Thunder Moon, Wort Moon, and Hay Moon.
Fireworks light up the sky against a full moon during a Fourth of July celebration in Kansas City, Kan., Tuesday, July 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
August: Sturgeon Moon
Many Native American tribes would fish for sturgeon during August, thus giving the month's full moon the name Sturgeon Moon.
The fish were once found in much of the U.S. and Canada, but the population has been significantly depleted due to overfishing.
Other names: Grain Moon, Green Corn Moon, Fruit Moon, and Barley Moon.
The super moon rises over the Chinese calligraphy on a sign that reads "Beijing" in Beijing, China, Sunday, August 10, 2014. The phenomenon, which scientists call a perigee moon, occurs when the moon is near the horizon and appears larger and brighter than other full moons. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
September: Harvest Moon/Corn Moon
The September full moon is usually the Harvest Moon, which is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. However, that sometimes happens in early October instead.
The name Corn Moon is used nearly as often.
Other names: Barley Moon.
The harvest moon rises over the Colorado prairie framed by the engines of a Royal Air Force cargo plane parked at a general aviation terminal at Denver International Airport in east Denver on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
October: Hunter's Moon
As previously mentioned, October's full moon is sometimes referred to as the Harvest Moon if it's the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox. However, it's more commonly referred to as the Hunter's Moon. This is because October was when people in the Northern Hemisphere would begin preparing for winter by hunting, slaughtering and preserving meat.
Other names: Blood Moon, Sanguine Moon, Travel Moon and Dying Grass Moon.
A pedestrian crosses over the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge as the full moon rises, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Cincinnati. The moon, better known as the Harvest Moon because it's the first full moon during the fall season, had not risen in its full stage during the month of October since 2009. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
November: Beaver Moon
Colonists and Native Americans used beaver furs to keep warm during winter. They'd set traps in November before swamps froze over to make sure they had enough fur for the cold months ahead. Beavers also became more active during November, making it that much easier to trap them, thus the name Beaver Moon.
Due to hunting, the beaver population in North America has dwindled to about 12 million, where it used to be about 60 million, according to TimeandDate.com.
Other names: Frost Moon, Trading Moon, Snow Moon and Mourning Moon.
The full moon rises behind holiday lights on Thanksgiving in Lawrence, Kan., Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
December: Cold Moon
The naming of December's full moon is pretty straightforward — it's cold in December in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere. More specifically, it's usually the first month in many areas where it gets really cold and stays that way.
Other names: Long Nights Moon, Moon Before Yule, Oak Moon and Wolf Moon.
The Full Cold Moon seen through the star of a Christmas tree in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015. The full moon, which is the last of the year, is called the Full Cold Moon because it occurs at the start of winter. The last time there was a full moon on 25 December was 1977, and there won't be another one until 2034. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Blue Moons
The Blue Moon has nothing to do with color. Most commonly, a Blue Moon occurs when there are two full moons in the same month. The first would get the traditional name, while the second moon is called the Blue Moon.
An alternative definition considers a Blue Moon the third full moon in an astronomical season with four full moons, according to TimeandDate.com. A typical season has three full moons.
A blue moon rises behind the Statue of Liberty seen from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., Friday, July 31, 2015. The blue moon happens when the moon rises in its full stage twice during the same month. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Here is what else you can look forward to in 2021.
Meteor showers
The Delta Aquariids meteor shower is best seen from the southern tropics and will peak between July 28 and 29, when the moon is 74% full.
Interestingly, another meteor shower peaks on the same night -- the Alpha Capricornids. Although this is a much weaker shower, it has been known to produce some bright fireballs during its peak. It will be visible for everyone regardless of which side of the equator you are on.
The Perseid meteor shower, the most popular of the year, will peak between August 11 and 12 in the Northern Hemisphere, when the moon is only 13% full.
Here is the meteor shower schedule for the rest of the year, according to EarthSky's meteor shower outlook.
- October 8: Draconids
- October 21: Orionids
- November 4 to 5: South Taurids
- November 11 to 12: North Taurids
- November 17: Leonids
- December 13 to 14: Geminids
- December 22: Ursids
Solar and lunar eclipses
This year, there will be two eclipses of the sun and two eclipses of the moon -- and three of these will be visible for some in North America, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.
An annular eclipse of the sun will happen on June 10, visible in northern and northeastern North America from 4:12 a.m. ET to 9:11 a.m. ET. The sun won't be fully blocked by the moon, so be sure to wear eclipse glasses to safely view this event.
November 19 will see a partial eclipse of the moon, and skywatchers in North America and Hawaii can view it between 1 a.m. ET and 7:06 a.m. ET.
And the year will end with a total eclipse of the sun on December 4. It won't be visible in North America, but those in the Falkland Islands, the southern tip of Africa, Antarctica and southeastern Australia will be able to spot it.
Visible planets
Skywatchers will have multiple opportunities to spot the planets in our sky during certain mornings and evenings throughout 2021, according to the Farmer's Almanac planetary guide.
It's possible to see most of these with the naked eye, with the exception of distant Neptune, but binoculars or a telescope will provide the best view.
Mercury will look like a bright star in the morning sky from June 27 to July 16 and October 18 to November 1. It will shine in the night sky from August 31 to September 21, and November 29 to December 31.
Venus, our closest neighbor in the solar system, will appear in the western sky at dusk in the evenings from May 24 to December 31. It's the second-brightest object in our sky, after the moon.
Mars makes its reddish appearance in the morning sky between November 24 and December 31, and it will be visible in the evening sky through August 22.
Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, is the third-brightest object in our sky. It will be on display in the morning sky through August 19. Look for it in the evenings August 20 to December 31 -- but it will be at its brightest from August 8 to September 2.
Saturn's rings are only visible through a telescope, but the planet itself can still be seen with the naked eye in the mornings through August 1 and in the evenings August 2 to December 31. It will be at its brightest during the first four days of August.
Binoculars or a telescope will help you spot the greenish glow of Uranus on the mornings of May 16 to November 3 and the evenings of November 4 to December 31. It will be at its brightest between August 28 and December 31.
And our most distant neighbor in the solar system, Neptune, will be visible through a telescope in the mornings through September 13 and during the evenings September 14 to December 31. It will be at its brightest between July 19 and November 8.
