The Three Consecutive Micro Moons of 2026!

The year 2026 offered an unusual celestial sequence, with three consecutive full moons occurring near apogee—the point in the Moon's orbit farthest from Earth. Known as micro moons, these full moons appeared slightly smaller than an average full moon, although the change is subtle to the unaided eye.

This composite compares all three micro moons captured from Lahore, Pakistan using the same telescope, camera, and processing workflow, allowing a direct comparison of their apparent sizes and lunar liberation. While the angular diameter changes only by a fraction of a degree, the Moon's gentle liberation, or apparent wobble, reveals slightly different regions around its limb from month to month, allowing us to observe nearly 59% of the lunar surface over time instead of only half.

The moons are arranged from left to right in order of decreasing Earth–Moon distance, illustrating how the Moon's apparent size increases as it moves closer to Earth.

Left: Micro Blue Moon (31 May 2026) – 406,280 km – 29.6′
Center: Micro Strawberry Moon (29 June 2026) – 405,545 km – 29.7′
Right: Micro Flower Moon (1 May 2026) – 401,600 km – 30.0′

Telesccope: 102/660 mm Skywalker Refractor Telescope
Camera: Canon EOS 1300D

50-frame stack for each Moon processed in RegiStax and Adobe Photoshop