A supermoon is expected to reach its peak illumination later this month!
This year, the Super Pink Moon will reach peak illumination on Monday, April 26, at 11:33 p.m. EDT. That said, it'll be hard to miss since it will look extraordinarily bright throughout the night, but for the best view, you'll want to look up when the moon is low on the horizon — roughly around 7:30 p.m. EST and 6:30 a.m. EST on April 27 — as that's when it'll look the largest.
This month’s full Moon was nicknamed the Pink Moon by Native American tribes due to the blooming of flowers around this time of the year. The Old Farmer's Almanac says that the name refers to the fact that April's full moon coincides specifically with the blooming of the bright pink creeping phlox flowers.
A supermoon occurs when the full moon is within 90% of perigee — that is, the closest point a celestial body gets to Earth during its orbit. Supermoons usually appear about 7% larger than a typical full moon and about 15% brighter.
The term was coined in 1970 by astrologer Richard Nolle.
In 2021, we have four supermoons on the calendar: March, April, May, and June. The following supermoon is expected on May 26, which the Old Farmer's Almanac calls the "flower moon".
Super moons are rare, happening roughly once every 12 to 14 months; though this year we're lucky to get two supermoons, with the second one visible just one month after the first. The next supermoon is occurring on Wednesday, May 26. This supermoon is notable because it will also be a total lunar eclipse, which will turn it into a super blood moon, and unlike the pink moon, this blood moon will be a reddish colour.