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| The Pink Moon rises over a Thai temple. (Photo courtesy of SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images.) ) |
In 2021,
the Pink Moon will be the second largest full moon.
According
to NASA, the Pink Moon, the second largest full moon of 2021, will appear in
the night sky shortly before midnight on Monday (April 26).
On Monday,
at 11:32 p.m. EDT, sky watchers will be able to see the moon at its peak (3:31
a.m. UTC on Tuesday, April 27). From Sunday night (April 25) to Wednesday
morning (April 26), the moon will be full for three days (April 28).
Apart from
one, April's super moon will be closer to Earth than all of the other full
moons this year. Only the full moon on May 26 will be closer, edging out the
full moon in April by a total of 98 miles (157 kilometers), or about 0.04
percent of the distance between Earth and the moon at perigee, according to
NASA.
April's
Pink Moon, despite its colorful name, will not appear pink; instead, it is
named after the early springtime pink wildflower Phlox subulata, which is
native to eastern North America. The herb moss pink, creeping phlox, moss
phlox, and mountain phlox are all names for this vine. According to NASA, other
names for April's moon include the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the
Fish Moon, which is named after the shad (Alosa sapidissima) that swim upstream
to spawn at this time of year.
This is
the Paschal Moon for Eastern Christians, since it is the last full moon before
Easter. Eastern and Western Christians usually observe the Paschal Moon at the
same time, but this year, due to variations in their calendars (Eastern
Christianity's observances are based on the Julian calendar, which is 13 days
different from Western Christianity's Gregorian calendar), Eastern Christianity
will celebrate Easter on May 2. Easter was already celebrated in Western
Christianity on April 4th.
Meanwhile,
Hindus will commemorate the birth of the Hindu god Lord Hanuman on Hanuman
Jayanti. This festival is traditionally held during the Hindu lunar month of
Chaitra. This is the Bak Poya full moon, a Buddhist holiday commemorating the
Buddha's visit to Sri Lanka, where he is said to have resolved a chieftain's
feud and brought peace to the area.
Take a
look at those vivid planets and stars as you're looking up at April's full
moon. Mars will appear at 38 degrees above the western horizon when twilight
ends at 8:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, NASA said.
About 63
degrees above the southern horizon, the bright star Regulus from the
constellation Leo would appear nearest to directly overhead in the sky.
Regulus, which is about 79 light-years away from Earth, is actually one of four
stars that appear to be one — two binary star systems orbiting each other —
according to NASA.
Sirius,
the brightest star in the night sky, will rise 16 degrees above the horizon in
the southwest. According to NASA, it's much closer to Earth than Regulus, at
8.6 light-years.
Originally
published on Live Science.
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