Skywatchers are in for a treat Tuesday when a super pink moon lights up the sky.
“The moon will rise on the evening of 7 April and burn brightly all night long. You may even see it cast moon shadows on the ground,” explains Zoltan Toth-Czifra, founder of Under Lucky Stars, in a statement emailed to Fox News.
The pink moon, or April full moon, is the closest supermoon of the year, which means that it is the largest, according to EarthSky.
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Supermoons happen when the moon’s elliptical orbit brings it to the closest point to the Earth while the moon is full. The phrase was coined in 1979, according to NASA.
Detail of the 'Full Moon Pink' view from Oaxaca, Mexico on April 20, 2019. (Photo by Carlos Tischler/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The space agency explains that the moon will be at perigee, at 2:08 pm EDT on April 7. The moon will be full at 10:35 p.m. EDT that day.
“For people looking for something different to fill their evenings, the traditionally named ‘Pink Moon’ is an invitation from the cosmos to scan your sky and peer out at our celestial partner,” Jackie Faherty, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History, told Fox News. “A full moon is always a sight to see as the disk of the moon is fully illuminated for us to study in detail. Calling it a ‘Pink Moon’ is a reminder that spring is here and people of the past used to live their lives much more closely with what was happening in the nighttime sky.”
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Toth-Czifra, however, says that the moniker “pink moon,” is a little misleading.
“I am afraid to disappoint – but it will not be bright pink! Moons always rise in the East and set in the West -- so follow this direction in your search,” he explained. “The April Moon takes this name from the ‘Phlox,’ a plant which blossoms pink in April.”
Skygazers recently enjoyed the stunning March full moon, or worm moon, which was also a supermoon.
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Some experts described the spectacular February full moon, or snow moon, as a supermoon, although others feel that it does not qualify as that category of celestial event.
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The snow moon was one of the largest full moons of 2020.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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