Get ready, stargazers, the year’s first supermoon is set to light up the skies on Monday.
And not only will it be super, but it also will be pink. Well, in name only.
Traditionally, April’s full moon is called the Pink Moon. Not because it will cast a pinkish hue but because of when it happens.
The Farmer’s Almanac writes, “Herb, moss pink, or wild ground phlox, is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. As the name infers, the flowers are pink in color, thus the name for April’s full moon.”
The moon is set to peak, according to NASA, at 11:32 p.m. Monday.
NASA says that’s not all to watch in the night sky: About 9 p.m., Mars will be about 38 degrees above the western horizon and some will be able to see Venus and Mercury from about 30 minutes after sunset until they set in the west-northwest.
While being a Pink Moon might be neat enough, this one is also a supermoon — the first of 2021.
The moon orbits Earth in an ellipse, not a circle. Its farthest point is called the apogee (average distance is 253,000 miles from Earth), and its closest is called the perigee (average distance is 226,000 miles). According to NASA, the term supermoon refers to “either a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of perigee.”
Monday’s supermoon will be just 222,211 miles from Earth. Super close, right? And because of that, the moon will appear about 14% larger and 30% brighter than a micro moon (when its farthest from Earth).
Although there’s another supermoon — the Super Flower Moon — set for May 26 that will be 98 miles closer than April’s. So get the picnic blankets set for that one.
