April's ‘Pink Moon’ to light up the sky this weekend
PremiumThe moon is associated with the springtime blossoming of the Phlox Subulata plant, a pink wildflower native to eastern North America
This weekend, a rare 'Pink Moon' will light up the sky on April 17 at 12:25 AM. However, the 'Pink Moon' moniker is entirely misleading, it will actually glow orange. The moon is associated with the springtime blossoming of the Phlox Subulata plant, a pink wildflower native to eastern North America.
The Pink Moon aligns with several religious holidays. It is called the Paschal moon in the Christian ecclesiastical calendar because it is the full moon before Easter. For Hindus, the moon marks Hanuman Jayanti.
April’s full Moon is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Growing Moon, and the Fish Moon. In the UK April’s full Moon is called the Egg Moon.
Unlike the last two years, this April's Pink Moon will not be a supermoon. The full moon happens when the moon is exactly on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun. The moon's orbit is inclined slightly to the plane of the Earth's orbit, that's why the moon does not pass through the earth's shadow every time it completes a circuit of the Earth.
After the Pink Moon, there are eight full moon events still to come in 2022, with two of them qualifying as supermoons.
List of the full moon:
May 16: Flower moon
June 14: Strawberry moon
July 13: Buck moon
August 11: Sturgeon moon
September 10: Harvest moon
October 9: Hunter's moon
November 8: Beaver moon
December 7: Cold moon