The next few weeks look good for astronomy enthusiasts as a rare pink supermoon will appear in the sky in the early hours of Tuesday morning, followed by another next month.
Set to occur at 4.30am BST on Tuesday, April 27, the Pink Moon will mark the first of two supermoons set to take place this year.
A ‘supermoon’ refers to either a new or a full moon, which occurs when the moon is within 90% of perigee, its closest approach to Earth, NASA explains. Tuesday’s moon will be a full one, and has been dubbed ‘Pink Moon’ according to the Maine Farmer’s Almanac, which has published American Indian Moon names for the months of the year.
The name is inspired by the herb moss pink, a plant native to the eastern United States, though other names for the upcoming celestial event include the Sprouting Grass Moon and the Egg Moon.
At peak illumination the moon is set to be 30% more dazzling and 14% larger than the average full moon, though the moon will appear full for about three days surrounding the event, from Sunday, April 25, through to Wednesday, April 28.
The second supermoon of the year, dubbed the Flower Moon, will occur just a few weeks later on May 26, making the pair the closest to appear this year and giving observers twice as much opportunity to witness one of the events. The Flower Moon will be closer to Earth by 98 miles, or about 0.04% of the distance from the Earth to the moon at perigee.
