Pink flowers. Pink Easter bonnets. And pink Peeps marshmallow candy. So why not have a pink moon?
Well, there will be a “pink moon” shining in the sky — sort of — when the April moon of 2022 turns full this weekend. Although the moon won’t actually look pink, it carries that colorful nickname because of the pink flowers that start to bloom in early April.
If you look into the sky on Saturday night, April 16, the first full moon of spring will look like any other ordinary full moon — sporting a yellow or golden-orange glow when it starts to rise and giving off a whitish tint as it appears higher in the sky.
The next full moon in May will be a more impressive spectacle because it coincides with a total lunar eclipse. (More on that below.)
In the New York City region, the near-full April moon (98% full) will rise in the eastern sky at 6:29 pm Friday, April 15, as Passover starts, and the completely full moon will rise at 7:42 pm on Saturday, April 16, the east-southeastern sky, according to TimeAndDate.com.
The moon will officially reach its fullest phase at 2:55 pm Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday.
On Easter Sunday — which is late this year because of the full moon cycle — the moon is scheduled to rise in the east-southeastern sky at 8:57 pm and will be 99% full.
If you want to see the big morning moon as it is setting, it will be sinking in the west-southwestern sky at 6:20 am Saturday, 6:47 am Sunday and 7:18 am on Monday.
This is what the full moon looked like in the sky over Brigantine, New Jersey, during a lunar eclipse in January 2019. The reddish-orange tint is why many experts refer to it as a “blood moon.”
You might want to mark your calendars for the lunar eclipse that will be coming on May 16, when the so-called “flower moon” will be reaching its fullest phase.
A total lunar eclipse will occur because the Earth’s shadow will temporarily block the sun’s light from shining on the moon’s surface as all three celestial bodies line up in a straight row. During the eclipse, the moon will give off a rusty, reddish-orange glow, which is why many astronomy experts often call it a “blood moon.”
The May lunar eclipse will be followed by two consecutive “supermoons” — on June 14 and July 13. Supermoons appear to be slightly bigger and brighter than the average full moon because their orbit is closer to the Earth.
Two of the 12 full moons in 2022 will be “supermoons” because they will be slightly bigger and brighter than an average full moon.Leon Melisurge | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
We already had the full “wolf moon” on Jan. 17, the full “snow moon” on Feb. 16 and the full “worm moon” on March 18. These are the other full moons that are on the way in 2022:
- April 16: Full “pink moon” at 2:55 pm
- May 16: Full “flower moon” at 12:14 am (total lunar eclipse)
- June 14: Full “strawberry moon” at 7:51 am (supermoon)
- July 13: Full “buck moon” at 2:37 pm (supermoon)
- Aug 11: Full “sturgeon moon” at 9:35 pm
- Sept. 10: Full “harvest moon” at 5:59 am
- Oct 9: Full “hunter’s moon” at 4:54 pm
- Nov 8: Full “beaver moon” at 6:02 am (lunar eclipse)
- Dec 7: Full “cold moon” at 11:08 pm
Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.
Len Melisurge may be reached at [email protected].
www.nj.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism