Set Your Eyes on the Night Sky on April 27 for the Pink Supermoon

Posted: April 25, 2021 9:26 am

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The first supermoon of the year will rise in the sky on April 26, shining brightly until the morning of April 27. This will be the first of three supermoons over the next few months. The second supermoon will make an appearance on May 26 with the last in the trio for the year coming out on June 24.

Details of April Pink Supermoon

The April pink supermoon will be visible all over the world if the skies are clear. If you live in an area with cloud cover on Monday, be sure to check back on Tuesday. While the moon will not be completely full, it will still be mostly at that stage of fullness.

The moon will be at its brightest and most brilliant stage at 11:32 pm Eastern Time Monday night.

What is in a Name

Contrary to its name, the moon will not appear pink. The moon simply may appear as a pink hue because of the oxygen and nitrogen particles in the atmosphere. The astronomical event gets its name from the pink petals of the herb moss pink plant, one of the first wildflowers to blossom during this time of the year in the eastern US. Because this month’s full moon is also a supermoon, it earned the moniker of the pink supermoon.

Other names for the April supermoon include the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.

Defining a Supermoon

As the moon orbits the Earth, it moves closer to the planet at certain periods known as perigee. When the moon is farther away from the Earth, it is known as apogee. If the full moon stage happens during a period of perigee, it appears to be larger and brighter than a regular full moon, earning the name of a supermoon.

The Monday supermoon will appear in the sky up to 30% brighter and 14% larger than a normal full moon.

Coming Up Next in the Night Skies

You will not have to wait long for another astronomical event. The last full moon of spring will appear in the early morning hours of May 26. This event will deliver both a supermoon as well as a total lunar eclipse. Residents along the western US will be able to get a glimpse of the lunar eclipse if weather conditions are clear. The sighting will be the first total lunar eclipse visible in the US mainland since January 20, 2019.

According to NASA, the May supermoon will get 98 miles closer to the Earth than the April pink supermoon. The May supermoon is called the Flower Moon.

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