Easter in 2022 will close with a flourish because, during the next few days, a new astronomical phenomenon will light up the sky: the long-awaited pink moon. The event, which occurs when the satellite's orbit is closest to Earth, and in turn is in its fullest phase, that is, full moon, is visible from the early morning of this Friday until the morning of next Monday, April 18.
Also known as the April Full Moon or Egg Moon, it was named Pink Moon by The Old Farmer's Almanac -an American astronomical publication-, because the time when it can be seen coincides with the flowering of the Phlox subulata plant, native to the eastern United States, and known as herb moss pink, due to its pink hue.
Although the Moon will not really be perceived as pink, its charm lies in the fact that, given its closer proximity to Earth, it will look bigger and its brightness will be such that, even, the stars that surround it may not even be seen.
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This astronomical spectacle will perfectly illuminate the sky from 8:46pm (CET) this Saturday, April 16, although it will be from 8:55pm that the pink moon will reach its fullness. According to the Spanish newspaper 'As', the satellite will reach its maximum brightness during the early morning, thanks to the total darkness of the sky.
In the case of Colombia, the maximum brightness of the pink moon cannot be appreciated as in other countries, because its highest degree of brightness will be recorded at 1:55 in the afternoon (Colombian time), that is, in broad daylight, as reported by the newspaper El Tiempo.
However, the scientific disseminator and former coordinator of the Bogotá Planetarium, Germán Puerta, assured in dialogue with Infobae Colombia, that as a common full moon event, “it can be seen anywhere in Colombia, as long as the (night) sky is clear.”
According to NASA, the pink moon will take over the night sky until the early hours of next Monday, April 18. “The Moon will appear full for about three days focused on this moment, from Friday morning to Monday morning, which makes this a full moon weekend,” the US space agency said.
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The Pink Moon will not be the only full moon event that will light up the sky for the next few months. According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, the American publication of weather forecasts and astronomical data that has been circulating since 1792, there will be eight such events that will occur throughout 2022:
- May 16: moon of the flowers.
- June 14: strawberry moon.
- July 13: deer moon.
- August 11: sturgeon moon.
- September 10: harvest moon.
- October 9: hunter's moon.
- November 8: Beaver Moon.
- December 7: cold moon.
For its part, NASA announced that, by the beginning of May, they anticipate the possibility that comet C/2021 O3 (PANSTARRS) could be visible in the night sky, when it first and last passes through the Sun, on its way out of the solar system.
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