‘Pink Moon’ Arrives Tuesday Night
Spring’s first supermoon visible across Northwest North Carolina
SPARTA-It’s not actually pink. In fact, it’s the same color as your typical moon. But when April’s ‘Pink Moon’ rises tonight, you’ll notice it’s a lot bigger than normal. That’s because tonight marks the closest point the moon comes to Earth in its orbit. As a result, the moon appears bigger and brighter.
How big? Well, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, a regular supermoon is 7 percent bigger and 15 percent brighter. Since the ‘Pink Moon’ comes closer to Earth, it’s normally 10 percent bigger and 20 percent brighter than normal.
As for the name, you can thank early American settlers for that. This full moon typically happens at the same time as a flower blooms in the Appalachian Mountains. The creeping phlox or moss phlox, which can be found all over Northwest North Carolina, produces light pink flowers. The settlers called it “moss pink” and labeled the annual supermoon a ‘Pink Moon’.
Interesting enough, this year, the moon also has ties to a religious holiday. It’s known as the Easter Moon. Why? Again you can thank tradition, but a much older one in this case. Easter as a holiday is held on the Sunday following the first full moon after the March equinox. This year, the equinox happened on March 19, so the first full moon after that would be April’s ‘Pink Moon’. That’s why we’re celebrating Easter on April 12.
If you want to go out and see the moon at its peak tonight, the Old Farmer’s Almanac says to expect that around 10:35 p.m. If you can’t go outside then, don’t worry. You’ll be able to see the moon at its full size from 10:35 p.m. until almost 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.
