Full Moon highlights 2026 | BBC Sky at Night Magazine
A guide to full Moon highlights in 2026, including supermoons, lunar eclipses and the Christmas Eve Cold Moon that will round off the year.
www.skyatnightmagazine.comHere are the latest widely reported details on the May 2026 full moons.
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May 1, 2026: First full moon of the month (often called the Flower Moon). It turns full in the early afternoon UTC, with visibility overnight in many regions. This event is notable because May 2026 features two full moons, making it a “blue moon” month in common parlance for the May 31 full moon.[1][2][4]
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May 31, 2026: Second full moon of May, occurring in the early morning UTC (about 04:45 UTC). This is the second full moon of the month, which is commonly labeled a blue moon in calendar shorthand, though not a true astronomical blue moon.[2][4][5]
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General viewing notes: The Moon’s full-phase times are given in UTC; local viewing windows will shift by your time zone. In many places, especially on or around the full-moon nights, the Moon is most striking when it’s near the exact full moment or slightly before/after, depending on atmospheric conditions and light pollution.[3][2]
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Context and extras: Several outlets compile full moon calendars for 2026, including mentions of other phenomena like supermoons and potential lunar events across the year; you may find additional detail about May’s two full moons in those roundups.[4][9]
If you’d like, I can tailor viewing times for Marseille (your location) and suggest the best nights around May 1 and May 31 for straightforward naked-eye viewing or for binocular/telescope observing. I can also provide a short printable calendar with exact UTC times converted to local time in Marseille. Would you like that?
Citations:
- May 1 full moon timing and the two-full-moon-in-May context.[1][2][4]
- May 31 full moon timing and blue-moon context.[5][2][4]
- General full-moon calendars and supplementary notes.[9][4]