How to see the flower moon in UK skies next week
A micromoon rises behind the so-called liver bird, the symbol of Liverpool that sits on top of the city's Royal Liver Building. (Alamy)
The flower moon will rise over British skies on 12 May, but it will be a little smaller than most full moons, making it what is known as a 'micromoon'.
The moon will appear full over most of the weekend, but will be at its best on Monday night.
A full moon is when the moon appears as a complete circle in the sky: this is because the whole side of the moon facing us on Earth is lit up by the sun's rays.
Because the moon does not produce its own light, we only see the parts of it that are lit up by other objects like the sun. This one will appear smaller, as it's further away.
Where and when is the best time to see it?
The flower moon will rise over the UK at 9.28pm BST on 12 May, according to Sky at Night.
The moon will rise in the southeast beneath the constellation Libra and will not rise very high in the sky, and will stay in the southern part of the sky, setting in the southwest before dawn.
A micromoon rises over the Czech capital of Prague last month. (Alamy)
Why is it called the flower moon?
The names we use for full moons today (such as cold moon, wolf moon and harvest moon) come to us indirectly from Native American traditions.
Nasa's Gordon Johnston wrote: 'In the 1930s, the Maine Farmer's Almanac began publishing Indian names for the full moons, tying these names to the European months."
The flower moon is named as such because it coincides with a time of year when flowers are abundant – it's also known as the corn-planting moon or milk moon, according to NASA.
What is a micromoon?
In contrast to the better-known supermoon, this month's flower moon will be a "micromoon".
This means it appears very slightly smaller from Earth.
Both supermoons and micromoons are due to the fact that the moon's orbit is not a circle – it's elliptical.
This means that the moon is sometimes closer to Earth and sometimes further away - a micromoon occurs when a full moon happens when it is furthest away from the Earth.
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