The Pink Moon Will Be The Biggest And Brightest Of 2020
Apr 7, 2020, 10:02 AM | Updated: 10:02 am
FILE (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Tuesday night’s supermoon – the “Pink Moon” — is expected to be the biggest and brightest of 2020.
The moon will be in its perigee, which is about 221,855 miles away from the Earth. It will be 100% full over Utah at 8:35 p.m.
This is the second supermoon of the year. The last one happened March 9 (the “Worm Moon”). The moon on May 7, while not technically a supermoon, will still be very close to the Earth, according to a report from the Associated Press.
The “Pink Moon” is named not because it will appear pink, unfortunately. It’s named after the pink-colored wild ground phlox, one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring, according to the Farmers Almanac.
“The Pink Moon has also been called the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, because the new grass begins to come up at this time,” according to Famers Almanac. “Some coastal tribes refer to it as the Full Fish Moon. Because this was the time that the salmon swam upstream to spawn.”
There are some other noteworthy moon events on the horizon, as well. On the night of July 4, there will be a penumbral eclipse, where the moon will be partially cast in the Earth’s shadow. Another penumbral eclipse is happening in November.
And Halloween in 2020 will be double a whammy. It will be a Blue Moon, meaning it’s the second full moon within a calendar month, and it will be the first full moon on Oct. 31 since 2001.
In total, there will be 13 full moons in 2020
