07-04-2025
How to see ‘pink micromoon' light up UK skies this weekend
This month will see a very special full moon rise on Sunday night - a pink micromoon.
Depending on the weather, the micromoon should be very visible from Britain on Sunday evening.
The moon should look 'bold and bright' in the night sky, Sky at Night magazine promises.
Sadly, pink moons are not actually pink.
In reality, it's more likely to be an orangey colour as the full moon rises over the horizon.
Instead, the term 'pink moon' comes from American terminology for different moons of the year.
NASA's Gordon Johnston writes, 'The Maine Farmer's Almanac first published Native American names for the full Moons in the 1930s. Over time these names have become widely known and used."
The term 'Pink Moon' comes from a spring flower, Wild Ground Phlox, also known as Moss Phlox which grows in North America, and appears at the time of April's full moon.
The full moon is linked to the date of Easter, with Easter falling on the Sunday after the full moon that appears after the spring equinox.
The rules date from the First Council of Nicaea in 325BC, with the council deciding that the moon would help pilgrims travel for Easter.
In contrast to the better-known 'supermoon', the Pink Moon this month will be a 'micromoon'.
Both supermoons and micromoons are due to the fact that the Moon's orbit is not a circle - it's elliptical.
This means that the Moon is sometimes closer to Earth and sometimes further away - a 'micromoon' occurs when a Full Moon occurs when the Earth is furthest away.
The scientific term is 'apogee moon'.
NASA says that 'micromoon' 'is a recently coined term to describe the full moon near apogee. Apogean full moon is more descriptive of 'micromoon' events but is, perhaps, more limited in time by its specification of apogee.'
On 13th April, the Pink Moon will rise at 21:08 BST.
The moon will reach its peak brightness at 1.22am BST, according to Royal Museums Greenwich.
