When to Watch the Pink Super Moon This Month on Peak Brilliance
In the new month, there is a new opportunity to experience the full moon that you may have been too careless to witness four weeks ago. This month, an impending celestial miracle will brighten the skies and presumably sweep across Instagram feeds as the pink Supermoon reappears on April 26, roughly a year and six weeks after it last gave us a glimpse of the sky.
Here’s how and when to see the full moon this month, as well as some historical facts about where it got its name from.
When will it appear?
You have plenty of time to get ready until the pink Supermoon comes out in full blaze as it peaks on April 26 at 11:33 pm ET. This is just the peak time for the luminescence, so don’t bother going to bed longer than you go to bed hanging around in an open field to catch it at its peak if you don’t want to, as the moon will shine brightly – and pretty much – all night long.
Even if you go to bed latelistening to Nick Drake thoughtfully, the moon won’t actually appear pink in the sky. Most of the full moons got their names from Indian tribes, who usually assigned moons according to the time of year and the weather depending on the harvest (see “Worm Moon” last month for further reading).
The Farmer’s Almanac explains that the pink moon is not a real color, but rather a reflection of the vibrant spring jokes we can experience on earth:
While we would like this name to refer to the color of the moon, the reality is not as mystical or awe-inspiring. In truth, the April full moon often corresponded to the early spring bloom of one wild flower native to eastern North America: Phlox subulata, commonly referred to as creeping phlox or moss phlox, also called pink moss.
Although this is a real Super Moon
While the worm moon nearly hit the mark last month, earning the title of true Supermoon, the pink moon will be large enough to claim the name.
As explained last month, the Supermoon concept is a kind of popular science term applied to the already pseudoscientific field of astrology. The Supermoon idea was invented by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 and technically applies to “either a new or full moon, which occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its perigee, its closest approach to Earth.”
Unlike last month, the moon on April 26th will meet these criteria and therefore the Supermoon moniker remains. Since this Moon will be 90% as close to the Earth as possible, it will appear much brighter than the normal Moon would otherwise be.
Here’s how it breaks down in The Farmer’s Almanac:
How big and how bright? On average, supermoons are about 7% larger and about 15% brighter than a typical full moon. However, unless you see an ordinary full moon and a supermoon side by side in the sky, the difference is very, very difficult to notice!
However, this does not mark the end of the 2021 Supermoon calendar, as the next full moon on May 26 will be even brighter than this month, but only by a small, imperceptible amount. As NASA explains:
The full moon in April and May is almost equivalent to the closest full moons of the year. The Full Moon on May 26, 2021 will be slightly closer to Earth than the Full Moon on April 26, 2021, but only by 0.04%!
As always, the best advice for upcoming lunar events is to find a beautiful open space, free from light pollution, and gaze up into the sky. The blanket probably won’t hurt either.