Tonight’s Your Best Chance To See May’s Flower Super Moon

So, you've gone through everything that your TV streaming services have to offer and you're still looking for nighttime entertainment. You're in luck.

The full Flower Moon will reach its peak brightness today, Thursday, May 7th at 5:45am Rockford time, according to the Farmer's Almanac. Since it'll be below the horizon during this time, the best time to see it in the Rockford area is actually tonight.

The Full Moon in May is known as the Flower Moon. Other names include the Corn Planting Moon, and the Milk Moon, while some named it the Hare Moon.

TimeAndDate.com:

The Full Moon of May is known as Flower Moon to signify the flowers that bloom during this month. There is a myriad of wildflowers which bloom in May in the Northern Hemisphere, where these traditional Full Moon names originated. For example, many types of anemone, wild garlic, indigo, bluebells, lupine, sundrops, and violets, to name just a few. It is no wonder that the colorful displays these flowers create in nature have inspired people to name this time after them.

The Super Flower Moon comes on the heels of the Eta Aquarid Meteor Showers, which have been taking place over the last couple of nights. You may be able to see a few of the meteors tonight, but the Super Flower Moon may get in the way, according to cnet.com:

Unfortunately, this year the shower has a bit of competition. It falls just before the final supermoon of 2020.

"Intense glare from one of the biggest full Moons of the year will reduce the number of visible meteors from the usual 40 per hour to no more than 10 or 15 per hour," writes astronomer Tony Phillips.

But if you're looking for a reason to get outside, that's still not a bad showing for any meteor shower.

Phillips says the best time to spot the Eta Aquarids is to get up early, an hour or so before sunrise when Aquarius is high in the eastern sky.

If you've missed the Eta Aquarids: