Full ‘Flower’ Moon Fever — a Supermoon rises over Toronto
Forget about the pandemic for the night. It’s time to gear up for a little full moon fever. According to the Farmer’s Almanac May’s full Moon reaches its peak early on Wednesday, May 26 at 7:14 a.m. EDT. but it will appear full both on Tuesday night as well as Wednesday night in Toronto’s skies. This full Moon just like April’s Pink Moon also will be its closest to Earth in its orbit, which means it is a Supermoon (or perigree), the second of two supermoons!
And that’s not all folks, (okay, for Toronto it is) full moon enthusiasts in western North America, western South America, eastern Asia, and Oceania will also be able to witness a total lunar eclipse.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon is completely hidden behind the Earth’s shadow, giving the Moon a reddish hue. The almanac says this phenomenon is where the term “blood moon” comes from.
Unfortunately, Toronto stargazers won’t see the total lunar eclipse because the Moon will be already below the horizon at the time of the eclipse.
For those on the West coast the total eclipse will occurs from 4:11 A.M. PDT to 4:26 A.M. PDT.
Why Is It Called the Flower Moon?
As mentioned here before, full Moon names emanate from a number of places, including Native American, Colonial American, and European sources. May’s full moon is called a Flower Moon because flowers are springing out across North America in abundance in May.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac the term “Flower Moon” has been attributed to Algonquin peoples, as confirmed by Christina Ruddy of The Algonquin Way Cultural Centre in Pikwakanagan, Ontario.
May’s Moon was also referred to as the “Month of Flowers” by Jonathan Carver in his 1798 publication, Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America: 1766, 1767, 1768 (pp. 250-252). While, American poet and philopsopher Henry David Thoreau referenced the Flower Moon and Carver in his book Thoreau and the American Indians.
Other names for May’s full moon
Of course like all full moons, May’s moon has several other identities, including: The Cree names Budding Moon and Leaf Budding Moon and the Planting Moon (Dakota, Lakota) because it marks the time when seeds should be started for the upcoming farming season. Moons are also given animal names and the Cree have also have referred to the May moon as the Egg Laying Moon and Frog Moon, as well as the Oglala Lakota term Moon of the Shedding Ponies.
by TOtimes Staff
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