GREENSBORO, N.C. — Look up, it's the Pink Moon! Stargazers will get a nice treat as the full moon rises in the sky on Tuesday night. But why is it called the Pink Moon?
What is the Pink Moon?
Hearing about the "Pink Moon" is probably generating a lot of confusion. The Pink Moon is simply a nickname given to the full moon that occurs in April.
If you go back in history, full moons were given nicknames throughout the calendar year. This mainly dates back to the Native American tribes and early agricultural times.
For April, the Pink nickname goes along with flowers starting to bloom in the northern and eastern United States. Some other examples of nicknames throughout the year are Snow Moon for February, Strawberry Moon for June, and Harvest Moon for September.
It goes without saying that the full moon will not appear pink. The full moon always appears the same. Typically, it has a slightly yellow-orange hue when it is lower on the horizon as the atmosphere scatters the light. As it gets higher in the sky, it looks more pure white.
When and where should you look and see it?
The full moon will happen on Tuesday evening at 7:48 p.m. At that time, it was still below our horizon. You'll need to wait for it to get a bit higher in the sky.
The earliest we'd be able to see the full moon is around 8 p.m. If you have trees in your eastern sky, you need to wait until around 8:15-8:30 p.m.