A rare pink supermoon will be visible in the sky in April
To be fair, March always drags on a bit longer than we’d like it to. But this year, it honestly felt like March would never leave. Luckily, April has finally come, and with it comes the pink supermoon (or the “super pink moon”) on April 7th, so we have something to look forward to.
April’s full moon was dubbed the “pink moon” by Native Americans and colonial-era settlers hundreds of years ago, according to Almanac.com. They tracked the seasons by way of the months’ moons. And they dubbed April’s moon “pink” because it comes during the time of year when the wildflower phlox subulata—known also as creeping phlox, moss phlox, and moss pink—blooms in the Northeast.
This means that, sadly, no—the full moon in April does not glow a peachy pink.
But this full moon isn’t just any old pink moon. It’s a pink supermoon—and the biggest and brightest supermoon of the year—which means it’s even more special.
We saw a supermoon in March, and we’ll see another supermoon in May. However, April’s supermoon is going to outshine them both. The pink moon will be the closest full moon to Earth. Therefore, it’s going to be the largest full moon we’ll see all year.
It’s often hard to tell if a full moon is a supermoon because it doesn’t appear to be that much bigger or brighter than an average full moon. It only appears to grow in size by about 7% and in brightness by about 15%.
But have faith that you’re looking at a celestial masterpiece when gazing upon the pink supermoon, because you definitely are.
And: The pink supermoon is also the first full moon of the spring season, and it’s the 2020 Paschal Full Moon, which is the first moon that happens after the March equinox and determines the date of Easter. So yeah, this moon carries a heavy load of coolness that you’re not going to want to miss.
Cast your eyes to the sky on April 7th at about 10:35 p.m. ET to witness the peak of the full pink supermoon. Though it may not actually be pink, it’s still going to be really beautiful.