When To See The Full ‘Pink Moon' Rise With Spica: Skywatching This Weekend
Full moon rises behind Saint Jean-Baptiste (San Giovanni Battista) statue over Baptistery in Pisa, ... More Tuscany, Italy, on April 5, 2023. April full moon is also known as pink, egg and fish moon. (Photo by Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Each Friday, I pick out North America's celestial highlights for the weekend ahead (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the northern hemisphere). Check my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more.
This weekend, it's all about the full moon. The first of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (and fall in the Southern Hemisphere), the pink moon will appear on the eastern horizon in a blaze of oranges and yellows (but not pinks!), but exactly when to look depends on where you are.
Here's everything you need to know about stargazing this weekend:
Saturday, April 12: Full 'Pink Moon' Rises with Spica
From across the world, the moon will appear big and bright for a few nights, but tonight it won't be alone. Close to it will be Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, and one of the brightest stars of the new season. From North America, tonight's the night to see it rise, with our natural satellite appearing shortly after sunset in gathering dusk. Use a moonrise calculator to find out the exact time of moonrise where you are, and get to a location with a good view low to the eastern horizon.
The full moon sets behind Stonehenge on April 27, 2021 in Amesbury, England. (Photo by Finnbarr ...)
For those in Europe, the best full moonrise of the month occurs tonight about an hour after sunset. That's a little late for twilight — when the spectacle is arguably at its best — but it's as close as it gets this month. Rising in a dark sky, the full moon will no longer be very close to Spica, but it's sure to still be a special sight.
Seeing the 'Spring Diamond' in the eastern night sky is a sure sign that the new season has arrived. ... More
Wherever you are on the planet this weekend, the full moon — or almost full moon — will dominate the night sky, making it tricky to see stars and constellations. However, this asterism (shape in the sky) is worth finding. Look to the east after dark to the bright stars Spica in the constellation Virgo and Arcturus in Boötes. Now add the fainter Denebola in Leo (at the tail of the lion) and Cor Caroli in Canes Venatici (closer to the Big Dipper).
The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information, consult online planetariums like Stellarium.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
As Fluoride Bans Spread, Who Will Be Hit the Hardest?
A recent study projected that if the entire country were to stop adding fluoride to the water supply, tooth decay would increase by about 7.5%, representing about 25 million more cavities. Credit - Linda Raymond—Getty Images Cavities and dental costs are at risk of skyrocketing as a growing number of states consider banning the use of fluoride in public water—and children from low-income households are likely most vulnerable. In March, Utah became the first state to prohibit adding fluoride to drinking water. A couple months later, Florida followed suit. Several other states are now considering similar bills. In a recent study published in JAMA Health Forum, researchers projected what would happen if the entire country were to stop adding fluoride to the water supply. The potential impact on both people's oral health and their dental bills was substantial: Tooth decay, the study found, would increase by about 7.5%—representing about 25 million more cavities—and the U.S. would face about $9.8 billion in additional costs over five years, including both what families would have to pay out-of-pocket for dental care and what the government would need to pay for public health insurance. And those impacts would disproportionately affect children on public insurance plans or without insurance, the researchers found. Fluoridated water is 'an amazing public health intervention that comes straight from the tap,' says the senior author of the study, Dr. Lisa Simon, an internal medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, who is also a general dentist. Read More: The Science Behind Fluoride in Drinking Water 'Fluoride works for everyone—it benefits adults, it benefits children,' Simon says. 'But the people who derive the most benefit from it are people who have a harder time accessing routine dental care.' 'Unfortunately, in our country, that is more likely to be children and families who are low-income, who rely on public insurance, or who otherwise face challenges in getting to a dentist,' she says. States' moves to ban the use of fluoride in public drinking water come as the Trump Administration—due in large part to the influence of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—has pushed back against the practice. Kennedy has long blasted water fluoridation, claiming it is linked to arthritis, bone cancer, IQ loss, and more, and signaled that HHS will stop recommending it. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that it is studying the potential health risks of fluoride, and the Food and Drug Administration said it is taking steps to remove prescription ingestible fluoride supplements for children from the market. Some research suggests that fluoride could be associated with lower IQ scores, but only at significantly high levels of exposure—the amount of fluoride that is added to public water, based on federal guidelines, is far lower. And the majority of public health experts, pediatricians, and dentists insist that water fluoridation is a long-standing practice that is both safe and effective at protecting oral health and fighting cavities and tooth decay. Read More: America's Dental Health Is in Trouble 'It's been touted to be one of the most successful or greatest public health initiatives, right up there with vaccinations,' says Dr. Tomitra Latimer, a pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. U.S. localities started adding fluoride to public water in 1945, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has credited the public health initiative for the 'dramatic decline in cavities' in the country in the years since. According to the CDC, drinking fluoridated water reduces cavities by roughly 25% in both children and adults. Tooth decay, though preventable, is one of the most common childhood diseases. And children of color, children who come from low-income households, children on public insurance plans that limit which providers they can see, and children who live in rural areas and have to travel long distances to access care—all of them are at greater risk of developing cavities, according to Latimer. Children with autism also tend to have a heightened risk of developing cavities because they may struggle with brushing their teeth regularly, she says. While there are alternative sources of fluoride that people can purchase, the cost may be out of reach for many families, Latimer says. That's why, she says, fluoridated water is so critical: It's an easily accessible tool that can help protect the oral health of children who are most vulnerable to cavities. And for generations, it's flowed straight from the tap. Contact us at letters@
National Geographic
17 hours ago
- National Geographic
Can hypnosis really treat hot flashes?
Researchers at Baylor University have found that compared to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), hypnosis was more effective in reducing the frequency and severity of hot flashes. Above, infrared thermal imaging shows heat distribution across a woman's face. Thermogram by Joseph Giacomin, Getty Images The use of hypnosis for medical and psychological purposes dates back centuries. In the 18th century, Austrian physician Franz Anton Mesmer believed 'mesmerism' to be caused by an invisible fluid between the subject and the therapist. The practice was used to alter the perception of pain in surgical patients, and help people with psychological issues. Today hypnosis is understood to be a subjective state in which perception or memory can be evoked by suggestion. While our understanding of hypnotism has evolved, the practice is still a useful tool for both medicine and psychology. Modern day hypnotism has been used in battling addiction, provide relief from chronic pain, and most recently reducing the occurrence of hot flashes. Most women begin the menopausal transition, when the production of estrogen and progesterone declines and menstruation stops, between ages 45 and 55. Because of the shift in hormone levels, women can experience hot flashes before and during menopause. The sudden sensation of heat, sweating, anxiety, and chills can be debilitating. (Read more about what happens during menopause.) Researchers and practitioners argue that hypnosis could provide an alternative to hormone-driven therapies that can be expensive and come with their own risks. While it might sound far-fetched, studies of hypnosis treatment for hot flashes exist. Most of the research on behavioral interventions for menopause symptoms focuses on clinical hypnosis and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), but researchers at Baylor University wanted to dig deeper. In a 2025 scoping review, they found that compared to CBT, hypnosis was more effective in reducing both their frequency and severity. Here's a look at the science behind hypnosis treatment for hot flashes—what it entails and how it might actually work. (Was this hypnotic health craze an elaborate hoax or a medical breakthrough?) What causes hot flashes—and how are they treated? To treat hot flashes, 'I think it's first important to consider what causes hot flashes in the first place,' says Gary Elkins, lead author of the review study and clinical psychologist at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. 'It's not just the estrogen decline that causes a hot flash.' When a woman has a hot flash, there's a dysregulation in core body temperature. Core body temperature is regulated by the hypothalamus in the brain. 'During the menopause transition, there are many different hormonal changes that the hypothalamus is misperceiving as heat, so when a woman has a hot flash she has sweating that is designed to cool her down,' explains Elkins. More well-known and readily prescribed treatments are hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and hormone-free medications like veozah, gabapentin, and clonidine. HRT works by increasing hormone levels, while the hormone free-medications target brain cells and other pathways involved in hot flashes. The North American Menopause Society also recommends CBT as an effective non‐hormonal treatment. Hypnosis and hot flash triggers Elkins and his colleagues scoured the literature for studies on both hot flashes and CBT. Across 23 studies, the team found that after the first week of hypnosis practice, there was a decline on average of about 30 percent. By the fourth week, the decline in frequency was by 70 percent. CBT didn't seem to perform as well. So what might be happening in the brain to cut hot flashes down? Elkins and his colleagues suspect that when a woman goes under hypnosis and hears the post-hypnotic suggestions, the hypothalamus perceives coolness and the frequency of hot flashes begins to decline. Stress and anxiety are other major triggers of hot flashes, so as women practice hypnotic relaxation, the effects carry over to when the woman isn't doing the hypnosis, providing a way to regulate the stress response or the autonomic nervous system. Elkins emphasizes the importance of consistency. 'It's not like I will hypnotize you one time and hot flashes will go away. It doesn't work that way, because you've got to reinforce and re-experience the coolness—it's the mind-body connection.' What hypnosis therapy looks like Mary Cahilly, a mental health and wellness therapist, has already incorporated hypnosis for hot flashes in her offerings at Canyon Ranch, a wellness resort in Lenox, Massachusetts. There's a formula to hypnotism that practitioners use, and it typically begins with recalling something pleasant. 'When we have a pleasant memory, our body relaxes because the limbic part of the brain doesn't understand the difference between a thought and reality,' explains Cahilly. Then the muscles progressively relax and that leads to the official trance process. 'In the case of hot flashes,' says Cahilly, 'When you're in the trance, it's a feeling like you're in control of your body, that there's coolness, a sense of freedom and lightness.' A post-hypnotic suggestion is offered toward the end so that the woman can easily return to this state of coolness and relaxation during a hot flash. Hypnosis as an alternative treatment Many of the medications currently available to treat hot flash symptoms can cause side effects, ranging from inconvenient, like dry mouth and eyes, stomach upset, and drowsiness, to more serious like increased liver enzymes that can be a sign of liver damage. Because hypnosis has nothing to do with fixing estrogen levels, it doesn't come with side effects, and that's part of the appeal. Estrogen levels never return to their original levels after menopause, but hot flashes eventually go away because the hypothalamus begins to again regulate body temperature. 'It is believed,' Elkins speculates, 'that with the practice of hypnosis, the process of regulation is occurring earlier on.' There's also the issue of accessibility and cost—veozah has a monthly cost of roughly $550, while hypnosis can be accessed through an evidence-based digital therapeutic app created in partnership with Elkins, or an array of other apps like HypnoBox or EverCalm. While in-person hypnosis with therapists like Cahilly can cost upwards of $250, sessions can be recorded and used at home. (Could this be the end of menopause as we know it?) Elkins acknowledges the fraught relationship between women and healthcare, and that historically women have been dismissed or told their symptoms are all in their head. For Elkins and his team, it was important to explore whether the change hypnosis causes in hot flashes was due to belief. 'What we found was that it didn't matter if you believed in it, or you didn't believe in it,' he says. While hypnosis is a mind-body therapy, and has similarities with mindfulness or relaxation techniques, Elkins' research shows that CBT does not decrease the frequency or severity of hot flashes. Neither do mindfulness practices. 'They can both decrease how much it bothers a person, but there's little or no change in the hot flashes,' he notes. Is hypnosis simply a placebo effect? But researchers can't rule out a placebo effect—the idea that your brain can convince your body that a treatment works and heal your body's symptoms. 'Some hypnosis researchers actually call hypnosis a super placebo,' says Michael Lifshitz, assistant professor of social and transcultural psychiatry at McGill University. 'Your brain has the power to dramatically change itself through the power of suggestion.' While this might sound similar to wishful thinking, it's not. 'Placebo is not about what you think. It's not a mind cure. It's not positive thinking. It's not expectation, and it's not faith or belief,' explains Ted Kaptchuk, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. The important thing to note, according to Lifshitz, is that placebos can actually change your body's processes. 'There's all kinds of mind-body connections that are not just subjective—your subjective experience actually affects the capacity of your body in a lot of tangible ways.' When it comes to hypnosis for physical symptoms like hot flashes, Lifshitz thinks it's better to reframe our thinking: 'Let's embrace the power of the mind over the body and that hypnosis is a way of harnessing that power.' In a 2020 study, Kaptchuk investigated the efficacy of an open-label placebo (OLP) treatment for menopausal hot flashes—meaning, the patients were fully aware that they weren't taking medication. 'These patients are desperate after failed medications and doctor appointments. They are not expecting to get better,' he says. The study found that OLP treatment was both safe and effective. The exact mechanism behind placebo is complex, but with his research, Kaptchuk is hoping to understand its benefits. 'Placebos don't cure tumors. They don't cure malaria. They only turn down symptoms that the body creates itself,' he explains. Symptoms, like hot flashes, are the nerves and neurons in the body saying that something is happening, 'but your brain sees something more, turns up the volume, and you get bad hot flashes.' Even if the placebo effect drives the effectiveness of hypnosis in treating hot flashes, it's likely not a problem for patients. As Elkins puts it, 'if woman can see the research and evidence that hypnosis helps, it improves the frequency severity of hot flashes, they don't really care what you want to call it.'
Newsweek
a day ago
- Newsweek
'Doomsday Fish' Discoveries Spark Fears Of Impending Natural Disaster
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The recent discoveries of two rare deep-sea dwelling oarfish have sparked fears of a looming natural disaster. The fish were discovered in separate incidents in India and Tasmania within the last week. In the first incident, fishermen in Tamil Nadu, India, pulled a 30-foot oarfish from the water. The massive fish required seven men to hold it for the video. Stock image of an oarfish. Stock image of an oarfish. Photo by Eric Broder Van Dyke / Getty Images On June 2, a dogwalker named Sybil Robertson encountered a dead nine-foot specimen washed up on a Tasmanian beach and posted photos to a citizen scientist group on social media. "I just knew it was something unusual and weird," Sybil Robertson told The Daily Mail, describing the oarfish's markings as "fabulous". A 'Doomsday' Fish? Oarfish are sometimes known as "doomsday fish"—a reputation that stems from interpretations of the oarfish in Japanese folklore. As per Forbes, at least a dozen oarfish washed up onto Japan's coastline in the year before the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, which brought the deep-sea creatures back to the forefront of the imagination. Doomsday fish have been found in Tamil Nadu, India. — ಸನಾತನ (@sanatan_kannada) May 31, 2025 Ben Fraber, an ichthyologist and the marine vertebrate collection manager at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, told Newsweek in a phone interview that the mythology was "compelling enough" to capture the public's attention. "You do see when there's a big change in pressure on land, birds and other animals will move out of the way," Fraber said. However, researchers in Japan took a closer look at the phenomenon, bringing in data points that included beached whales and anglerfish, as well as known natural disasters and earthquakes dating back to the early 1900s. "They found almost no correlation whatsoever," Fraber noted. "It's really interesting to think about, but it doesn't seem to have a statistical link that we can find." A Rare Find Fraber has seen oarfish in person—last year, two oarfish were discovered by employees of Scripps Institution of Oceanography who were out snorkeling for the day. The employees notified lifeguards, and the institute was able to work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to bring the oarfish in. Fraber preserved the fish in formaldehyde and alcohol, and members of the public can see one of them currently in the Birch Aquarium at Scripps in San Diego. Fraber said oarfish sightings are relatively rare in Southern California—the two his team encountered were only the 21st and 22nd discovered since 1901. "Having the samples in person instead of just a video allows us to look at their stomach contents, look at their genetics, we'll get nitrogen and carbon isotopes that can tell us where they are in the open ocean food web," Fraber said. "And we preserve them so people in the future can continue asking questions from them." According to Fraber, oarfish are filter feeders whose jaws are modified so they can push them forward and vacuum water in, creating suction that traps food similar to bass or large whales. Oarfish primarily eat krill and small fish, which may be confused by the oarfish's silvery body that refracts light. "You're a little school of fish, you're swimming around, you see this thing, but it kind of just looks like a big jelly or gelatinous organism, something you're not too concerned about because a jellyfish is not going to try to eat you," Fraber said. "So you swim up and it's actually not that. It's this big fish that has a highly modified mouth that can protrude and create a kind of vacuum cleaner. It slurps up all these fish." A "Wow" Reaction Having handled and seen oarfish in person, Fraber understands the hype. "I think part of it is the size," he said. "Part of it is the look, they have this beautiful bright red fin, big silvery body, large eyes. "And part of it is the scale. We're not used to seeing animals that big—with the exception of sharks, dolphins and whales—so it elicits this kind of 'wow' reaction." Fraber noted that the mythology of sea serpents is probably related to misidentified oarfish long ago. "It's like actually getting to see this semi-mythological thing in person, it's not a myth, it's a real animal that's living with us on our planet, I think that makes it really amazing," he said. "Even though I've worked on fish for almost 20 years, and have handled many oarfish specimens, these two last year were the first time I actually got to see them fresh and unpreserved in person, and it was pretty magical."
