What is the Moon doing in May?

The Moon in January

The Moon in February

The Moon in March

The Moon in April

The Moon in May

The Moon in June

The Moon in July

The Moon in August

The Moon in September

The Moon in October

The Moon in November

The Moon in December


In general, we can tell what the Moon will look like, when it will be visible, and in what direction to look for it, just by working out how many days it is since New Moon.  The details are here.

But we can predict this more accurately by noticing that the Moon mimics, every month, the way the Sun behaves over the course of a whole year.


Here is a schematic diagram of how the Moon behaves in May.

moon's path in May

Immediately after New Moon, the crescent Moon behaves like the Sun in midsummer, rising in the north-east and setting in the north-west. The time of moonset gets about an hour later each night, so we can easily see the young Moon after sunset.

But the Moon soon begins to move south again. As it reaches First Quarter and continues to wax gibbous, it rises much later each day, and much further to the right. The time of moonset stays roughly constant, shortly after midnight, but the position shifts to the left.

After Full, the Moon is well south, like the Sun in midwinter; it rises in the south-east and sets in the south-west.

But the Moon soon starts to move northwards again, as it wanes towards Last Quarter. It continues to rise shortly after midnight, and the position of moonrise shifts to the left again. But it is still south of the Sun, so it will be hard to see the waning crescent at dawn.

On any date, if you know how many days it is since New Moon: multiply that by twelve, and add it to the present date, to find out roughly where the Moon will be in its cycle.


However, the Moon doesn't follow the Sun's path exactly. To find out what difference that makes, try clicking here.

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