April’s pink full moon will grace our skies this week, giving way to a bright and beautiful spectacle throughout the evening of Wednesday, April 5. The moon will be visible starting Wednesday evening and peak early Thursday morning around 12:35 a.m. ET.
While this year’s rendition of April’s pink moon won’t precisely be pink, it will be bright and easy to see throughout the northern hemisphere as it rises into the sky throughout Wednesday evening. If you enjoy skywatching, you’ll likely have a clear night to take pictures or observe our lunar satellite.
The April pink moon is named after blossoming flowers and trees that bloom during April, according to EarthSky.org. This full moon can also be known as a Paschal Moon if it occurs before Easter, like this year. However, next year, when it appears after Easter, it will simply be known as the pink moon.
Skywatchers in the northern hemisphere will notice that the bright full April pink moon’s path tonight will take it just over Spica, a star found in the Virgo constellation. On Thursday, when the Moon settles back under the horizon, it will be found to the right of Spica.
If you’re watching the April pink moon from the southern hemisphere, then Spica will be found above the moon’s path tonight, and when it sets, the moon will rest to the left of the star. This isn’t important to locate the moon itself, but it is cool to see how our satellite will align with other celestial markers.
Like past full moons, including the first full moon of 2023, the moon’s visibility will rely heavily on the local weather where you are. However, if you head outside during the evening of Wednesday, April 5, you should have a chance to sight the moon as it makes its way across the sky.
While we’re still confined to observing the moon from the surface of the Earth, NASA’s Artemis missions will soon give humanity another view of the moon — one that includes a view of Earth from its surface. That is, of course, just one of many upcoming space missions that NASA has space lovers looking forward to.
