May Full Moon: When to see the ‘Flower Moon’ this week

The Moon’s monthly orbit around the Earth is not circular, but slightly elliptical, which means that its distance from us varies and not all full moons are the same.

This year’s flower moon is at its greatest distance from Earth when it is full – the point called the apogee.

That means this year’s crescent moon will appear slightly smaller than usual because it’s farthest from Earth in its orbit – roughly 406,000km (252,000 miles) away.

The difference between apogee and perigee is approximately 43,000 km (26,000 miles) – it seems huge, but to the naked eye the change is hardly noticeable except in photographs.

The overall result is that a micromoon appears slightly smaller in the sky and may be a touch less bright than average.