Heads up, sky-gazers and anyone looking for an excuse to stand in their yard and stare into the night sky — this Saturday, April 12, the Pink Moon is rising!
Oh and by “pink,” we mean “not pink at all, but still emotionally satisfying.”
Despite its rosy moniker, this “Pink Moon” won’t be strawberry-tinted, or even remotely pink. The name actually comes from a wildflower (phlox subulata if you’re nasty) which blooms this time of year and is also known as “moss pink,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
And just to keep things humble, this full moon is showing up as a “micromoon” — aka the smallest full moon of the year. Lara Eakins, senior program coordinator with the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Astronomy, broke it down for those of us who majored in something easy:
“The April full moon this year is the one that occurs closest to apogee, the farthest point in the moon’s orbit around the Earth. So, the size that the moon appears in our sky will technically be the smallest for this year,” she told The Barbed Wire.
“Although,” Eakins added, “I have a feeling the average person wouldn’t notice the difference.”
Translation: It’s the lunar version of your phone’s 0.5x camera — zoomed out, slightly underwhelming, still going to be all over Instagram.
Now, before you write this moon off as a disappointing dot in the sky, know this: timing is everything. Terry Phillips of the Austin Astronomical Society told The Barbed Wire: “The key point about appreciating the moon with the naked eye is that you want to observe the full moon as it’s rising or, if you’re an early bird, as it’s setting before sunrise in the morning. Once the moon is way up in the sky, it’s much less dramatic, regardless whether it’s a supermoon or a micromoon.”
So if you want a truly cinematic moon moment — the kind that makes you question your life choices in a poetic way — catch it as it rises. This is when the “moon illusion” kicks in: your brain makes the moon look bigger when it’s near the horizon, especially with a backdrop of trees, buildings, or that kid on the bike carrying E.T.
“The full moon appears largest when it is close to the horizon, down in the landscape,” Phillips added. “The brain needs some context around the moon to make the experience more meaningful. So to make the most of a full moon viewing, get yourself to the west side of some nice background just before sunset and then look back east and watch the show.”
So if you’re squinting at it from your driveway at 10 p.m., you’re doing it wrong.
But if enjoying natural cosmic beauty isn’t enough, we have ONE MORE pitch as to why you should check out the moon Saturday! Because THIS moon will determine when people give out chocolate bunnies and deviled eggs.
Yes, this isn’t just any full moon, this is the “Paschal Moon” — the one that decides when Easter falls. According to ancient tradition (and complicated ecclesiastical math), Easter is the Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. This year, that full moon falls on April 12. Cool right?
So, to recap: The moon will not be pink. It will be slightly smaller than typical full moons. Most people won’t notice. But if you want to notice, you should look at it right as it’s rising, with a nice scenic background.
So while it’s technically a micromoon, in our hearts? It’s huge.
Next month we’ll talk about May’s “Flower Moon.” And spoiler, it isn’t made of flowers. Sorry to bum you out on a Friday.
