May 2026 is the month of a double full moon: the first full moon on May 1st, the second - the &quot;Blue Moon&quot; - on the 31st. A phenomenon that returns every two or three years.

Months when the Moon appears full twice in a row are rare. May 2026 is one of them: after the first full Moon on May 1st&mdash;the traditional Flower Moon &mdash;the Earth's satellite will light up completely again on May 31st. The second full Moon in a single calendar month is conventionally called a Blue Moon. It won't be blue; it will be, as always, golden-white. But it will bring something special. It will also be the farthest micromoon from Earth in all of 2026.

<h3 style="text-align: left;">Why are there two full moons in May?</h3>
The Moon completes its phases&mdash;from new to full and back again&mdash;in approximately 29 days, 12 hours, and 44 minutes. Calendar months are either 30 or 31 days long (with the sole exception of February). This small gap of a few days is the root of everything. When a full moon falls on the first day of the month, the cycle has enough time to complete itself again before the end of the month. This is exactly what happens in May 2026: a full moon on the 1st, and then again on the 31st, 29 days apart. Each year, the civil calendar has approximately 11 more days than 12 complete lunar cycles. Consequently, approximately every two and a half years&mdash;with an interval ranging from 2 years and 6 months to 2 years and 11 months&mdash;a month with two full moons occurs. The last Blue Moon appeared on August 19, 2024; the next, after the one in May 2026, will be on December 31, 2028.

<h3 style="text-align: left;">What is a Blue Moon and why is it called that?</h3>
The term blue moon has nothing to do with colour. In English, the expression "once in a blue moon" exists, equivalent to our "once in a blue moon," to indicate something so rare as to be almost impossible. From that expression, the name migrated to indicate the astronomical event: the "extra" full moon that appears in a month where we usually expect only one. According to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, there are actually two definitions of a&nbsp;Blue Moon . The older one&mdash;the astronomically "official" one&mdash;indicates the third full moon in an astronomical season that contains four instead of three. The second definition, more recent and now in common use, is that of the second full moon in the same calendar month. The latter arose from a misunderstanding published in 1946 in the magazine Sky &amp; Telescope, then popularised by radio broadcasts and the board game Trivial Pursuit in the 1980s. The Blue Moon of May 31, 2026, belongs to this second definition.

<h3 style="text-align: left;">The Royal Observatory in Greenwich also says so</h3>
The prestigious London observatory confirms: "The next Blue Moon will occur on May 31, 2026. Blue moons remain the same colour as any other full moon." The blue colour is only possible under exceptional atmospheric conditions&mdash;volcanic dust or smoke from large fires&mdash;but it is a completely different and much rarer phenomenon.

<h3 style="text-align: left;">Because it will also be a micromoon, smaller and further away</h3>
The Moon does not orbit the Earth in a perfect circle, but rather in an ellipse. The point of closest approach is called perigee (and gives rise to supermoons, which are larger and brighter). The point of greatest distance is called apogee. When the full Moon coincides with apogee, it is called a micromoon: the satellite appears slightly smaller and dimmer than average. On May 31, 2026, the Moon will be right near apogee, making it the most distant micromoon from Earth in all of 2026. Its apparent diameter is about 7% smaller than an average full Moon, and up to 14% smaller than a supermoon. The difference is real but difficult to perceive with the naked eye without comparing photographs. It's worth noting the contrast with August 2023: then, the Blue Moon was a supermoon, meaning it was close to perigee and appeared larger and brighter. This time, the opposite is true.

<h3 style="text-align: left;">When and how to observe the Blue Moon of May 2026</h3>
The Moon will reach peak illumination on &nbsp; May 31, 2026 at 08:45 UTC , corresponding to &nbsp; 10:45 Italian time (CEST) . Since it will be full daylight in Italy at that time, the best time to observe it remains the night between May 30th and 31st and the evening of the 31st. The Moon will appear practically full for both nights, rising after sunset. The Blue Moon will be found close to &nbsp; Antares, the bright red star marking the heart of the Scorpius constellation. The pair will be visible to the naked eye as a spectacular display. In some areas of the Southern Hemisphere&mdash;southern Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and part of Antarctica&mdash;there will even be an occultation: the Moon will cover Antares for several minutes.

<h3 style="text-align: left;">The historical origins of the name</h3>
In medieval English, the expression already existed &nbsp; &laquo;the moon is shining&raquo; &nbsp; - that is, "the moon is treacherous" - to indicate something impossible. From there, the modern idiomatic expression was born, and later its astronomical use. The oldest definition - that of the &nbsp; Maine Farmer's Almanac &nbsp; 19th century American - called the Blue Moon &nbsp; third &nbsp; full moon in a season with four lunations, not the second in a month. The reason was practical: the Christian religious calendar used the full moon to calculate dates like Easter, and a "thirteenth" full moon in the year would throw the calculations out of whack. The 1946 error on&nbsp;&nbsp; Sky &amp; Telescope, when journalist James Hugh Pruett misunderstood the Almanack's definition, ended up becoming the version most widely distributed to the general public.

<h3 style="text-align: left;">There is also the opposite: the month without a full moon</h3>
While a month can have two full moons, the opposite can also happen: a month without any full moons. This phenomenon&mdash;sometimes called &nbsp; black moon &nbsp; or &nbsp; black moon &nbsp; - can only occur in February, the only month short enough to "miss" a full moon. It's an even rarer event than the Blue Moon; the last time it happened was in 2018, the next will be in 2037. And when it does happen, both January and March usually have two full moons each.

The Blue Moon Of May 31 Is A Rare Micromoon To Watch

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