FILE: A brilliant meteor lit up the night sky over the Dominican Republic on Saturday, January 25, 2025. Footage captured by X user @PhillyMadeRai shows the meteor glowing an intense green as it streaked across the sky over San Jose de Ocoa.

With May’s arrival, spring is now in full swing. Offering warmer temperatures for stargazing, there are plenty of reasons to step outside and look up this month. 

The first stargazing event happens early in May as the Eta Aquarids meteor shower is already underway and set to peak soon.

According to NASA, this spring meteor shower is known for its speed. These meteors can zoom across the sky at more than 40 miles per second. However, they also leave glowing “trains” of debris after the meteor is gone, which can last up to a few minutes. 

The Eta Aquarids get their namesake from the constellation of Aquarius, from which they appear to radiate in the sky. According to NASA, the space debris creating the meteor shower actually comes from the famous comet 1P Halley, which was last seen from Earth in 1986.

WHY THE CLOSEST SUPERMOON OF THE YEAR WILL BE INVISIBLE TO EARTH

The Eta Aquarids meteor shower began on April 19 and is active through May 28. This year’s peak activity between May 5 and 6 should offer a good show with a Waxing Gibbous Moon about 60% full, creating a mostly dark sky. 

The Aquarids are visible from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres in the pre-dawn hours, but the Southern Hemisphere has the better view. Hourly meteor rates in the Northern Hemisphere are only about 10 meteors per hour, with up to 50 for those in the Southern Hemisphere under ideal conditions. 

According to NASA, the meteors appear low in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere, appearing to skim the surface of the Earth on the horizon line. 

May’s Flower Micromoon

This month’s full Moon is rightfully nicknamed the Flower Moon because if you’ve looked outside lately, many flowers and plants are in bloom.

WHAT ARE THE PHASES OF THE MOON?

May’s Flower full Moon is considered a “micromoon” because it occurs during apogee, when the Moon is at its farthest point in its orbit of Earth. This is the opposite of a supermoon, which is when a full Moon occurs at the closest point in the Moon’s orbit of our planet, also known as perigee. The Moon will be about 251,000 miles from Earth, compared to the average distance of about 237,000 miles. 

JERSEY CITY, NJ – MAY 22: The full Flower Moon rises behind the Statue of Liberty at twilight in New York City on May 22, 2024, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey.  (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

(Gary Hershorn / Getty Images)

Coincidentally, the Earth and the Moon were at their closest distance of the year on April 27, but it happened during a new Moon when the lunar satellite was invisible to us. 

The full Flower Moon’s peak illumination happens on May 12 at 12:56 p.m. EDT, but the Moon will appear full on the two nights before and after this date.