This April, we are going to witness the brightest supermoon of the year. As this is going to be the first full moon of spring, therefore, it is also called the ‘pink moon.’
However, don’t get confused with the name as the name has nothing to do with the color of the astronomic body but because of a pink flower.
As per the oldest continuously published periodical Old Farmer’s Almanac from North America, the full moon in the month of April is often related to the bloom of the wildflower which is also popularly known as moss pink.
What is Supermoon or ‘Pink’ Supermoon?
A supermoon basically occurs when the moon is very close to Earth while it is full. The closeness of the moon to the Earth, certainly, makes the moon look extremely close and extremely bright. To be more precise, the moon looks up to 14 percent bigger as well as 30 percent brighter than a full moon at its farthermost point from Earth.
The word “supermoon” was created in the year 1979 by an astrologer named Richard Nolle. The term has turn into quite popular in the decades since then.
Because of the optical effect called the moon illusion, the full moon seems to look very huge when escalating behind distant objects on the horizon. Overall, the supermoon looks very impressively.
What is the reason behind Supermoon nicknamed ‘Pink’ Supermoon?
Many people believe that Supermoon gets another name i.e., ‘Pink’ Supermoon due to its pinkish hue to the moon this month, however, that is not correct. Even the moon doesn’t even look pink on this day.
As per the Old Farmer’s Almanac, April’s full moon is often associated with the early spring season blooms of Phlox subulata, which is a pink wildflower that is native to eastern North America. The wildflower is also very commonly and popularly known as creeping phlox or moss phlox and it also goes by the “moss pink” name.
When to watch ‘Pink’ Supermoon?
Previously, in the month of March, the supermoon 2020 appeared between March 9 and March 11. Now, April’s full moon can be witnessed on 8th April at 8: 05 AM IST, in India. On the other hand, the full moon is going to occur exactly at 10:35 PM EDT on April 7, as per to EarthSky.
However, the supermoon is going to appear in the sky in the morning as per Indian standard timings, so people are not going to be able to see it with their naked eye. But, they can watch this amazing phenomenon online.
According to the Farmer’s almanac, some additional April full moon names consist of Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon as well as the Fish Moon.
Out of a total number of three supermoons this year, April’s supermoon is going to come closest to our planet Earth and therefore, it will appear largest as compared to other supermoons this year.
