This month there are several astronomical events that will excite stargazers with the first full moon, also known as the Pink Moon, rising tonight (Apr. 5).
The full moon reaches peak illumination at 11:37 p.m. CST (12:37 a.m. Apr. 6 EST) but will appear full the night after to the casual stargazer.
While it’ll be an incredible opportunity to see the beauty of the fully illuminated moon during the Pink Moon, the moon will not actually appear pink in color.
The Pink Moon moniker is purely figurative in nature, according to Farmer’s Almanac.
The name actually refers to the fact that the April full moon is correlated with the springtime bloom of a pink wildflowers called Phlox subulata, also traditionally known as “moss pink.”
For the best view of this lovely spring Moon, find an open area and watch as the Moon rises just above the horizon, at which point it will appear its biggest and take on a golden hue!
For local moon rise and set times, click here
