A Smaller Than Usual Blue Moon Will End the Month With a Lunar Spectacle. Here's What to Know About the Full Micromoon

Margherita Bassi· May 28, 2026 · 7:40 PM UTC ·4 min read · 0 reactions · 0 comments · 57 views

TL;DR · WeSearch summary

A blue moon will occur on May 31, marking the second full moon of the month. This particular blue moon will be classified as a micromoon, appearing smaller and dimmer than usual due to its distance from Earth. While the event is interesting, the differences may be subtle enough to go unnoticed by most observers.

Key facts

▪The blue moon is the second full moon in May, a phenomenon that occurs approximately every two and a half years.
▪This blue moon will be the smallest full moon of 2026, appearing about 6 percent smaller and 10 percent dimmer than an average full moon.
▪The term 'blue moon' gained popularity in the 1980s due to a misunderstanding from a 1946 magazine article.

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Smithsonian Magazine files mainly under science. We currently carry 112 of its stories.

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Smithsonian Magazine · Margherita Bassi

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Original publisher	Smithsonian Magazine
Canonical URL	https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-smaller-than-usual-blue-moon-will-end-the-month-with-a-lunar-spectacle-heres-what-to-know-about-the-full-micromoon-180988854/
Publication time	Thu, 28 May 2026 19:40:08 +0000
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand

A Smaller Than Usual Blue Moon Will End the Month With a Lunar Spectacle. Here’s What to Know About the Full Micromoon The blue moon will be the second of two full moons in the same month, a coincidence that only takes place about every two and a half years. It will also appear to be slightly smaller and dimmer than the average full moon Margherita Bassi | Daily Correspondent May 28, 2026 3:40 p.m. ShareCopy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrintAdd as preferred source A blue moon in 2015 Tatters ✾ from Brisbane, Australia via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 2.0 This year, May is bookended by two full moons. So, on Sunday, the month’s closing spectacle will be a once-in-a-blue-moon event—literally.

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