How April's full moon earned its Super Pink Moon nickname
April's full moon is known as the Pink Moon, but it won't really be pink. How did it get its nickname and why is it so super?
The Super Pink Moon will glow in the night sky this week, but the full moon may not appear as its name may lead you to believe.
This month’s full moon will rise on Tuesday night and will be visible around the globe, weather permitting. It will officially become 100% full at 10:35 p.m. EDT on April 7. Folks that miss Tuesday night’s full moon can catch it on Wednesday night, as it will still appear to be full.
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Every month’s full moon has a nickname that can often be traced back hundreds of years to the Native Americans or early Colonials from Europe.
“April’s full Moon often corresponded with the early springtime blooms of a certain wildflower native to eastern North America: Phlox subulata” the Old Farmer’s Almanac explained on its website.
Purple and pink Phlox plants blooming in the spring. (Photo/Atilin)
Despite its nickname, the upcoming full moon will not actually appear pink. However, the moon can sometimes appear yellow, orange or even red depending on atmospheric conditions right as it first peers above the horizon.
Other names for April’s full moon include the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon and the Fish Moon.
April's full moon will also be the biggest and brightest supermoon of 2020.
A supermoon is a nickname given to a full moon that falls near perigee, or the point in its orbit when it is closest to the Earth. This makes it appear slightly bigger and brighter than normal, although the difference might not be apparent at first glance.
Onlookers can watch for the full moon rise in the eastern sky on Tuesday evening right before sunset, local time. The moon will rise in the same area on Wednesday evening; however, it will do so shortly after sunset, local time.
A full moon is seen as it rises over the New York City skyline seen from West Orange, N.J., Saturday, April 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Once darkness falls, stargazers can look to the western sky to see Venus shining incredibly close to the Pleiades star cluster, a tight bunching of stars that will sit just below the planet.
Venus will also serve as a reference point to find the constellation Orion, which will appear to the left of the bright planet. This will be one of the last opportunities to see the well-known constellation until late summer or early fall, as it is on the opposite side of the Sun in the weeks surrounding the summer solstice, which will occur Friday, June 20, 2020.
Betelgeuse glowing orange in the constellation Orion. (Pixabay/sl1990)
The next full moon will rise on May 7, 2020, and will be the final supermoon of the year.
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