April's Pink Moon Will Illuminate the Sky on Good Friday This Year

Katie Frost
Photo credit: Project with vigour/Aflo - Getty Images
Photo credit: Project with vigour/Aflo - Getty Images

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The final supermoon of this year has been and gone, but there's still plenty more to look out for when it comes to stargazing this spring.

This month's full moon, known as the Pink Moon, will appear on April 19, peaking at 7:12 a.m. ET, according to The Farmers' Almanac. Despite its name, this moon isn't pink. Instead, the name refers to the first wildflowers to bloom in North America in early spring.

"The April full moon is often called the Pink Moon, named after pink phlox flowers that are the first wild flowers to bloom in spring," Dr Emily Drabek-Maunder, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told Country Living.

"The Full Moon in April can also be called the Fish Moon, Hare Moon, Egg Moon and Sprouting Grass Moon. Traditionally, full moons are named from Native American tradition, but many of them also can come from Anglo-Saxon and Germanic origins."

Photo credit: Ben Birchall - PA Images - Getty Images
Photo credit: Ben Birchall - PA Images - Getty Images

The pink moon falls on Good Friday this year. Easter is always on the Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox, known as the Paschal moon. So, the date for Easter Sunday is Sunday, April 21.

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"The moon will begin its rise in the east around sunset, be at its highest point towards South around midnight, and then will make its descent in the West around sunrise on April 20."

What’s up for April in the night sky? The Lyrid Meteor Shower, which peaks on April 22! Mid-April, start looking for the Lyrid meteors, which are active from April 14 – 30. In the early morning sky, a patient observer will see up to a dozen or more meteors per hour. Observers in the United States should see good meteor rates on the nights before and after the April 22 peak. A bright first quarter Moon plays havoc with sky conditions, but Lyra will be high overhead after the Moon sets at midnight, so that’s the best time to look for Lyrids! Credit: NASA #nasa #space #lyrids #lyridmeteor #meteor #shootingstar #meteorshower #lyra #april #whatsup #nightsky #astronomy #solarsystem #observe #moon #stars #peak

A post shared by NASA (@nasa) on Apr 15, 2018 at 8:58am PDT

It's not the only celestial event to look out for this month. Keep an eye out for shooting stars lighting up the night sky on April 22, when the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower reaches its peak.

"The moon will be really favorable for them this year; it will set by the time the Lyrid radiant is high in the sky," NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com. "The moon will be around first quarter, so the moon will have set by the show getting fired up after midnight."

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