UAE: April's 'Pink Moon' to be visible tonight, peak early tomorrow morning

This month's full Moon will be on Thursday morning, April 6, 2023, appearing opposite the Sun in Earth-based longitude. April’s full moon may not shine completely pink, despite its name, but the bright golden orb could still offer a sight to behold. Sky gazers can begin to see the lunar event starting Wednesday night, and it will peak early Thursday morning at 12:34 a.m. ET (8:35am UAE time).

According to Nasa website, the bright star Spica will be about 8 degrees to the lower left of the full Moon. The Moon will appear full for 3 days around this time, from Tuesday evening to Friday morning. The fullness of the moon won’t appear to be very different to the human eye the day before or after the crest.

For optimal viewing of the pink moon, find a spot with minimal light pollution and with a clear view of the sky.

Dr Noah Petro, chief of Nasa’s planetary geology, geophysics and geochemistry lab, has a suggestion for Moon observers, “I encourage people to dust off their binoculars or telescopes to look closely at the Moon, try to see the different colours (the light and dark regions)."

Full moons happen when the sun and moon are on the opposite sides of the Earth. The moon's orbit is inclined slightly to the plane of the Earth's orbit, so the moon doesn't pass through the Earth's shadow every time it completes a circuit of the Earth.

Naming the moon

According to Nasa, the Maine Farmers' Almanac began publishing Native American names for full moons in the 1930s and these names are now widely known and used. According to this almanac, as the full Moon in April this is the Pink Moon, named after the herb moss pink, also known as creeping phlox, moss phlox, or mountain phlox, a plant native to the eastern USA that is one of the earliest widespread flowers of spring.

Other names for this Moon include the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Fish Moon, as this was when the shad swam upstream to spawn.

This is the Pesach or Passover Moon. Pesach or Passover begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 5, and ends at nightfall on Thursday, April 13, 2023. The Seder feasts are on the first two evenings of Passover.

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