What To Know About April's Full Pink Moon That Will Peak In Visibility Tonight

April's full moon is set to fill the night sky on Wednesday, April 5, reaching peak illumination around 12:35am EDT on April 6, 2023. Tonight's Pink Moon is also known as the Paschal Full Moon, or the first full Moon of the spring season.

Contrary to its name, tonight's full Moon will not appear pink in the night sky, but rather a golden hue. The reason noted for tonight's Moon being referred to as "pink" is because it often corresponded with early springtime blooms of a particular wildflower native to eastern North America: Phlox subulata - commonly referred to as creeping phlox or moss phlox, also known as "moss pink."

"The April full Moon, at first glance, will look like other full Moons," explained Dr. Noah Petro, Chief of NASA's planetary geology, geophysics, and geochemistry lab, in an email to CNN. He continued that each full Moon, however, "presents a special opportunity to see a beautiful Moon and start looking at the Moon as it goes through its phases."

For anyone wanting the best view of the Pink Moon, it is highly suggested to find an open area away from the pollution of city lights. This will allow viewers the ability to catch the Moon as it rises above the horizon, at which point it will appear its biggest and take on a golden hue, according to Almanac.com.

The Paschal Full Moon has significance to those who celebrate Easter, since the holiday's date (April 9) is dependent upon the date of the Paschal Full Moon (April 5-6).

"When people look at the Moon, I want them to think of not just of it as a nearby neighbor in space, but of the Moon being like the eighth continent of the Earth," remarked Petro. "We are preparing to send astronauts back to the Moon as well as numerous robotic missions to its surface. The next several years are going to be very very exciting for lunar science!"

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