Outside Scoop: Look up Monday, April 26, for first of two supermoons of the year
Why is it called a “pink moon”?
Outside Scoop
Special to the Daily
Monday night, April 26, isn’t just a full moon, it’s a supermoon, and it’s pink! The full moon will reach peak illumination at 9:33 p.m. Monday evening. This will be the first supermoon of the year.
Supermoons are when the moon appears a little brighter and closer to earth than normal, but it might it be hard to spot the difference between a supermoon and regular moon with the naked eye. On average, supermoons are around 7% larger and about 15% brighter than a typical full moon.
And, sadly, Monday night’s moon won’t actually be pink, it will actually appear golden in color. The moniker (nickname) for the pink moon comes from the springtime blooms of a wildflower, pink moss, also called wild ground phlox. The flower is native to eastern North America. The Algonquin tribe is noted as referring to the April moon as the pink moon for the period of time when the pink wildflowers bloom. The name of the pink moon was then adopted by colonial Americans.
What are other names for April’s moon? The sprouting grass moon, the egg moon and the fish moon.
There are only two supermoons in 2021! The next one is May 26.
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Outside Scoop is written by freelance journalist Julie Bielenberg. Contact her at jbielenberg@mac.com.
