A full Pink Moon filled the Sunday night sky
Posted April 30, 2018 5:51 am.
Last Updated April 30, 2018 6:11 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
If you looked up last night you were in for a delightful, celestial sight. Sunday night marked a full Pink Moon — also known as the April full moon.
Here’s some interesting facts about this annual event:
Is it actually pink?
Sadly, no. According to NASA, the Pink Moon is named for the grass pink — or wild ground phlox — flower, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers to bloom in the spring. It is also known as the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Full Fish Moon, when the shad fish come upstream to spawn.
When was the best time to see it?
The full Pink Moon peaked at 8:58 p.m. on Sunday. It began to rise on the East Coast around 7:30 p.m., which means the sun and the moon were both visible at the same time for about 20 minutes.
It wasn’t the only view in the night’s sky
The beautiful big moon wasn’t the only celestial object in the sky visible with the naked eye. Throughout the night, four planets could be seen from earth — although not at the same time. Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars could all be seen starting with Jupiter around 8:30 p.m. and ending with Mars just before 1:30 a.m.
When is the next full moon?
The next full moon will be in May. That moon is called the Flower Moon. It is also known to be one of the brightest full moons of the year.
