The May full Moon is known as the Flower Moon, a term that originated from Native American tribes that associated the springtime celestial event with the abundance of blooming flowers.
Despite this month’s full Moon being a micromoon — a little dimmer and smaller than usual — photographers took advantage of the fine, cloudless conditions to capture stunning shots.
The Flower Moon conveniently rose behind the Statue of Liberty in New York allowing photographer Mike Carroll to put his Sigma 500mm f/5.6 to good use by making the illusion of bringing the iconic figure and natural satellite close together.
Sticking around in Manhattan, Dan Martland captured a similar shot of the Flower Moon rising behind Lady Liberty. But the night before, Martland was in the City to capture a 98.3 percent Moon setting behind the Empire State Building.
Jetting over the Atlantic, Josh Dury was in the Mendip Hills of Somerset, England, to capture a photo of the Flower Moon complete with blooming buds in the foreground.
Exiting Earth, astronaut Nichole “Vapor” Ayers captured shots of the Flower Moon from her position onboard the International Space Station. She shot the photo with “a few different lenses for perspective.”
Ayers’s photos are an excellent example of how different focal lengths on camera lenses affect the view of a celestial object, particularly the Moon. People sometimes think the Moon really does appear huge in the sky, but that is not the case. A long focal length can dramatically increase the size of the Moon, especially when paired with a foreground object such as the Statue of Liberty.
Another such example is seen below, Jeff Overs captured the Moon rising over Ely Cathedral in southern England while Dr. Sebastian Voltmer captured it rising over a ruin in Sardinia.
More of the rising #FlowerMoon over Ely Cathedral last night pic.twitter.com/S8LHqDg4PN
— Jeff Overs (@JeffOvers) May 13, 2025
Flower Moon seen from Sardinia. Do you know this spot? The May Full Moon is often called the Flower Moon because many Native American tribes associate it with the abundance of blooming flowers across North America during this time of year. The Full Moon occurs on Monday, May 12,… pic.twitter.com/4Rcd6DdU6L
— Dr. Sebastian Voltmer (@SeVoSpace) May 12, 2025
If you captured any photos of the Flower Moon then please send them in quickly via PetaPixel’s tip line.