Summertime and its clear and pristine skies are just around the corner, meaning it is time to break out once again the telescope and plan for those long nights of stargazing. In the meantime, however, stargazers have something else to look forward to, which is the Full Flower Supermoon Eclipse that will grace the Colorado skies this month:
Taking place Tuesday, May 25th, and Wednesday, May 26th, 2021, the Full Flower Supermoon Eclipse is a supermoon and lunar eclipse all-in-one!
Peaking at approximately 5 a.m. on the morning of the 26th, the Full Flower Eclipse is billed as being the closest full moon of the year, which is made even more spectacular in that - in certain areas - it will combine with a lunar eclipse.
Will Colorado have both the full moon AND lunar eclipse? We should, as the eclipse (when the Earth stands directly between the Moon and the Sun) should take place in the Lower 48 states, plus western South America, eastern Asia, and Oceania.
What makes it a "Flower Moon"? According to the Old Farmers' Almanac, the term is in honor of all of the flowers blooming around the country this month, but some of the terms' origins are also attributed to Algonquin peoples.
As it is a supermoon, the moon should appear larger and more eye-catching than most, as supermoons are approximately 7% bigger and 15% brighter than a typical full moon.