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Look Up! Full Pink Moon Will Dazzle the Night Sky This Weekend

Each month, we're getting a celestial show, and our natural satellite has the main role. This weekend, skywatchers will be able to catch a glimpse of April's Full Moon, which is traditionally known as the Pink Moon.
Full Moon 6 photos
Photo: NASA
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A Full Moon weekend awaits! The Moon will appear full in the night sky for about three days in a row, from Friday morning through Monday morning, according to NASA. This year we won't have a supermoon, but we're still getting treated to a beautiful celestial show.

On Saturday (April 16), once evening twilight ends at 8:47 p.m. EDT, the Moon will appear approximately nine degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. It won't be alone, though. The dazzling star Spica will accompany it, and you'll be able to spot it just below the satellite.

The Moon will reach peak illumination at 2:55 p.m. EDT. But don't expect to see an actual pink Moon – the color will be more orange-ish as it starts to rise into the night sky. The name comes from the association with the herb moss pink, known as creeping phlox, moss phlox, or mountain phlox, that grows in America around this time of the year.

The Maine Farmer's Almanac started publishing Native American names for the each full Moon of the year in the 30s. This is the Pink Moon, according to the almanac, but it is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.

Since the days are starting to get warmer, you can go out and enjoy the show. And if the skies are clear, don't forget to take a camera with you!

Next month, we're going to assist an even greater astrological phenomenon: we will have both a full moon and a total lunar eclipse. The satellite will start to hide in the partial shadow of Earth at 9:32 p.m. EDT on Sunday night (May 15), but you'll be able to see the Moon getting slightly darker when it enters the Earth's full shadow at 10:28 p.m.
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About the author: Florina Spînu
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Florina taught herself how to drive in a Daewoo Tico (a rebadged Suzuki Alto kei car) but her first "real car" was a VW Golf. When she’s not writing about cars, drones or aircraft, Florina likes to read anything related to space exploration and take pictures in the middle of nature.
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