The Moon in May 2026
In May 2026 the Moon goes through five main phases: full moon on May 1, last quarter on May 9, new moon on May 16, first quarter on May 23 and full moon on May 31. There are two full moons this month, so the second one, on May 31, is a blue moon. The new moon falls on Saturday, May 16 at 4:01 PM ET.
On May 1 the Moon is a full moon, 100% lit. By May 31 it is a full moon, 99% lit. All times on this page are Eastern Time (New York), rounded to the minute, with UTC alongside. The live tool at the top uses your own time zone.
| Phase | Date | Time (ET) | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full moon | Friday, May 1 | 1:23 PM | May 1, 5:23 PM |
| Last quarter | Saturday, May 9 | 5:11 PM | May 9, 9:11 PM |
| New moon | Saturday, May 16 | 4:01 PM | May 16, 8:01 PM |
| First quarter | Saturday, May 23 | 7:11 AM | May 23, 11:11 AM |
| Full moon | Sunday, May 31 | 4:45 AM | May 31, 8:45 AM |
May 2026 moon calendar, day by day
Phase and lit share at noon in New York, the Moon’s direction in the sky, then moonrise and moonset in New York. “None” means the Moon does not rise (or set) that calendar day.
| Day | Phase | Lit | Moon | Rise | Set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, May 1 | Full moon | 100% | Descending | 8:16 PM | 5:27 AM |
| Sat, May 2 | Waning Gibbous | 99% | Descending | 9:20 PM | 5:55 AM |
| Sun, May 3 | Waning Gibbous | 96% | Descending | 10:22 PM | 6:28 AM |
| Mon, May 4 | Waning Gibbous | 92% | Descending | 11:18 PM | 7:09 AM |
| Tue, May 5 | Waning Gibbous | 86% | Ascending | none | 7:56 AM |
| Wed, May 6 | Waning Gibbous | 79% | Ascending | 12:09 AM | 8:51 AM |
| Thu, May 7 | Waning Gibbous | 71% | Ascending | 12:51 AM | 9:52 AM |
| Fri, May 8 | Waning Gibbous | 62% | Ascending | 1:27 AM | 10:56 AM |
| Sat, May 9 | Last quarter | 52% | Ascending | 1:57 AM | 12:01 PM |
| Sun, May 10 | Waning Crescent | 42% | Ascending | 2:23 AM | 1:07 PM |
| Mon, May 11 | Waning Crescent | 32% | Ascending | 2:46 AM | 2:14 PM |
| Tue, May 12 | Waning Crescent | 23% | Ascending | 3:08 AM | 3:22 PM |
| Wed, May 13 | Waning Crescent | 14% | Ascending | 3:31 AM | 4:34 PM |
| Thu, May 14 | Waning Crescent | 7% | Ascending | 3:56 AM | 5:49 PM |
| Fri, May 15 | Waning Crescent | 2% | Ascending | 4:24 AM | 7:09 PM |
| Sat, May 16 | New moon | 0% | Ascending | 4:59 AM | 8:31 PM |
| Sun, May 17 | Waxing Crescent | 1% | Ascending | 5:44 AM | 9:50 PM |
| Mon, May 18 | Waxing Crescent | 5% | Ascending | 6:41 AM | 11:00 PM |
| Tue, May 19 | Waxing Crescent | 12% | Descending | 7:50 AM | 11:56 PM |
| Wed, May 20 | Waxing Crescent | 21% | Descending | 9:06 AM | none |
| Thu, May 21 | Waxing Crescent | 31% | Descending | 10:23 AM | 12:40 AM |
| Fri, May 22 | Waxing Crescent | 41% | Descending | 11:37 AM | 1:14 AM |
| Sat, May 23 | First quarter | 52% | Descending | 12:47 PM | 1:41 AM |
| Sun, May 24 | Waxing Gibbous | 63% | Descending | 1:54 PM | 2:04 AM |
| Mon, May 25 | Waxing Gibbous | 72% | Descending | 2:58 PM | 2:26 AM |
| Tue, May 26 | Waxing Gibbous | 81% | Descending | 4:02 PM | 2:46 AM |
| Wed, May 27 | Waxing Gibbous | 88% | Descending | 5:05 PM | 3:07 AM |
| Thu, May 28 | Waxing Gibbous | 93% | Descending | 6:08 PM | 3:31 AM |
| Fri, May 29 | Waxing Gibbous | 97% | Descending | 7:12 PM | 3:57 AM |
| Sat, May 30 | Waxing Gibbous | 99% | Descending | 8:14 PM | 4:29 AM |
| Sun, May 31 | Full moon | 100% | Descending | 9:12 PM | 5:07 AM |
Distance and height in the sky
The Moon is closest to Earth (perigee) on May 17, at 358,077 km. It is farthest (apogee) on May 4, at 405,843 km.
The month starts with a descending Moon. It reaches its lowest path on May 5 (28.1° south) and starts to ascend again. It reaches its highest path on May 18 (declination 28.1° north) and then descends. A high declination means the Moon rides high in the sky and stays up longer, as seen from the United States.
A blue moon
With two full moons in May, the second one is a blue moon in the monthly sense. This happens about every two and a half to three years.
Why it is called the Flower Moon
The name comes from the almanac tradition of the northeastern United States: flowers bloom everywhere in May. These names were popularized in the 1930s by the Maine Farmers’ Almanac, which presented them as Native American names.
Next: the following month. Before: the previous month. See all the full moons of 2026, or sunrise and sunset times for any city.