Topline
April closes, and May begins with a brilliant full flower moon on May 1 amid a sky in seasonal transition. Spring’s constellations now dominate the evening, summer’s brightest stars climb after midnight and the Big Dipper rides high overhead. Here’s everything you need to know about stargazing and astronomy from April 27-May 3, 2026.
Timeline
After dark, the nearly full moon shines very close to Spica in Virgo, a star that lies about 250 light-years from the sun. It’s actually a tight binary system of two massive stars orbiting each other every four days. Though they appear as one point of light, their combined luminosity is more than 10,000 times that of the sun.
The full Flower Moon turns officially full at 12:23 p.m. EDT today. As always, the best moment to watch is moonrise where you are — just after sunset — when it appears largest and glows orange through atmospheric haze.
Although tiny Mercury will be lost in the sun’s glare today, it will appear to pass close to Eris, the second-largest known dwarf planet in the solar system after Pluto, but three times farther from the sun.
A waning gibbous moon will rise later at night close to Antares, a red supergiant star about 700 times the diameter of the sun. It’s the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius.
Big Dipper Climbs Highest
On bright moonlit nights in April, look straight overhead to the zenith for one of the sky’s most recognizable shapes: the Big Dipper. Part of Ursa Major, its seven stars form a ladle shape that points the way to Polaris via the “pointer stars” Dubhe and Merak. Follow the curve of its handle in an “arc to Arcturus,” one of the easiest star-hops in astronomy. In April, the Big Dipper is at its highest and most prominent. For another iconic asterism at this time of year, trace the Great Spring Triangle — Arcturus in Boötes, Spica in Virgo and Denebola in Leo — for a signpost of spring.
May’s ‘double’ Full Moons
May’s full moon — traditionally called the Flower Moon — happens to rise this year on May Day, known culturally as International Workers’ Day, but also a cross-quarter day marking the midpoint between the March equinox and June’s solstice. It’s also significant for being the only full moon of the month. The next full moon after the flower moon will be May 31’s blue moon, the second full moon in the same calendar month — an occasional consequence of the moon’s 29-day orbit of Earth. The best night to watch the blue moon will be on May 30, when it rises shortly after sunset.
The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information, consult online planetariums like Stellarium.
