What Is The Pink Moon, And When Will We Be Able To See It?
Each month has a full moon, but the next full moon, the one in April, will be the Pink Moon. This year the Pink Moon will be visible on April 11, and its name doesn’t necessarily come from the name of the moon itself, but from flowers called Phlox, which bloom in the early spring. The April Pink Moon goes by other names, such as Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.
October’s moon is known as the Hunter’s Moon, and the 2016 Hunter’s Moon was considered a Supermoon, which is named as such because the moon is close to perigee, its closest point to Earth in its orbit, says the Inquisitr. In 2016, the month after the Hunter’s Moon was another Supermoon, called the Full Beaver Moon, which was the biggest Supermoon of the year. Each month’s full moon has at least one nickname, owing to the country’s Native American heritage.
Space.com says that April’s Pink Moon will be at it’s fullest on April 11 late at night, approximately 2:08 a.m. EDT. According to Space.com, there are some suggestions to seeing the moon in all its “Pinkness.”
“For Northern Hemisphere observers along the East Coast, the sun and moon will rise and set nearly simultaneously. On April 10, the sun will rise over New York City at 6:25 a.m. local time, just 3 minutes after the moon dips below the horizon. That evening, the moon will rise at 7:03 p.m., nearly half an hour before sunset. On Tuesday (April 11), the moon will set at 6:22 a.m., preceding the sunrise by only 1 minute. Thirty minutes after sunset, the moon will reappear at 8:02 p.m. — about 3 hours before its fullest phase. On Wednesday (April 12), the moon will be just past full and won’t rise until 8:59 p.m. EDT.”
But really, what is the Pink Moon? Initially, the different Full Moons of the year got names in order to keep time. Today, the names are from old almanacs and Native American or European folklore. The April Full Moon or Pink Moon indicates the holiday of Passover for the Jewish people and Hanuman Jayanti for Hindus.
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The Sun explains that there is a new moon every 29.5 days, and while the Pink Moon won’t necessarily appear pink in color, it just might depending where you are when looking at it, and things like the weather and pollution. In North America, each month’s Full Moon has its own name. For example, the February Full Moon is called the Snow Moon. February is traditionally the snowiest month of the year, and in Native American lore, it is called the Hunger Moon, because hunting is harder in harsh weather.
Other interesting Full Moon names are the January Full Moon, which is the Wolf Moon. Legend says that the moon is called the Wolf Moon because wolves could be heard howling outside of traditional Native American villages. The name for this month’s moon is the Worm Moon, because March is when the ground traditionally thaws on the east coast of the United States, and earthworms start to work their way through the soil.
But one of the most interesting Full Moon names is the name of the August Full Moon, which is the Sturgeon Moon, given that name by Native American tribes that fished to get most of their tribe’s protein. The Full Moon of August or the Sturgeon Moon is the best time to fish and catch, you guessed it, Sturgeon. And perhaps the Full Moon that gets the award for most obvious is the December Full Moon, which is called the Cold Moon.
Are you looking forward to the Pink Moon? Do you have a favorite Full Moon?
[Featured Image by Bill Ingalls/NASA/Getty Images]
