April’s full moon is the “pink” moon and it’s a supermoon, too.
So get ready to catch the “pink supermoon” which will shine bright across the night sky on 27th April. According to NASA, the moon will be at its fullest at 11:32 PM Eastern Time (ET).
Supermoons appear bigger and brighter (17 percent and 30 percent brighter) in the sky because they are slightly closer to Earth. This supermoon will be the second-closest full moon of the year. And although it’s called the pink moon, it’s not really a different color. This moon gets its name from the pink early springtime blooms of the Phlox subulata plant, also called “moss pink.” It’s native to eastern North America.
There are also several religious celebrations that align with this moon, according to NASA. For Eastern Christians, this is the full moon before Easter, called the Paschal Moon. For Hindus, it is Hanuman Jayanti, the celebration of the birth of Lord Hanuman. For Buddhists, it is Bak Poya, which marks the Buddha’s visit to Sri Lanka to settle a dispute between chiefs, avoiding a war. This full moon is also near the middle of the holy month of Ramadan, which Muslims observe in honor of the Quran being revealed.
Catch a glimpse of these planets in 2021
Skywatchers will have multiple opportunities to spot the planets in our sky during certain mornings and evenings throughout 2021. It’s possible to see most of these with the naked eye, with the exception of distant Neptune, but binoculars or a telescope will provide the best view.
Mercury will look like a bright star in the morning sky from June 27 to July 16 and October 18 to November 1. It will shine in the night sky from May 3 to May 24, August 31 to September 21, and November 29 to December 31.
Venus, our closest neighbor in the solar system, will appear in the western sky at dusk in the evenings from May 24 to December 31. It’s the second-brightest object in our sky, after the moon. While Mars will make its reddish appearance in the morning sky between November 24 and December 31 and will be visible in the evening sky through August 22.
Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, is the third-brightest object in our sky. It will be on display in the morning sky through August 19. It will be at its brightest from August 8 to September 2.
Saturn’s rings are only visible through a telescope, but the planet itself can still be seen with the naked eye in the mornings through August 1 and in the evenings August 2 to December 31. It will be at its brightest during the first four days of August.
Binoculars or a telescope will help you spot the greenish glow of Uranus on the mornings of May 16 to November 3 and the evenings of November 4 to December 31. It will be at its brightest between August 28 and December 31.
And our most distant neighbor in the solar system, Neptune, will be visible through a telescope in the mornings through September 13 and during the evenings September 14 to December 31. It will be at its brightest between July 19 and November 8.
