Pink supermoon: How to see the brightest full moon of 2021 so far
April’s full moon will brighten the night skies all over the UK
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Your support makes all the difference.Moongazers are in for a treat this week as a pink supermoon is set to light up the skies over the UK - although a pink hue might not be as noticeable as the name would suggest.
April’s full moon is named after pink flowers known as phlox, which bloom in the springtime. It is a supermoon because the full moon will occur when it is near its closest point to the Earth in its orbit.
The lunar surface of the moon this month will appear 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than some past full moons - which means it will be the brightest full moon of 2021 so far.
When will the pink supermoon be visible?
You can see the pink supermoon from Tuesday 27 April in the UK, and it will appear full for around two to three nights afterwards.
The moon will be at its fullest point at 4.13am on 27 April, which is the moment it reflects the maximum amount of sunlight onto Earth and will only last a short while.
How can I see it?
The moon will be visible from anywhere in the UK as long as it is not too cloudy.
Anna Ross, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich, told the PA news agency: “The best times to view this supermoon will be anytime during the night of 27 April - when the moon will rise in the east just before sunset and set in the west around sunrise.”
Will it actually be pink?
According to Dr Darren Baskill, physics and astronomy lecturer at the University of Sussex, the moon may only appear pink or reddish for short periods of time, depending on its location as it moves over the horizon.
Dr Baskill told Science Focus that the moon will only “slightly change colour” depending on its location in the sky due to the “curvature of the Earth”.
So unfortunately, it is unlikely that the supermoon will appear pink in any discernible manner, unless you catch it at exactly the right time.
When will the next supermoon be?
A full moon takes place roughly every 29.5 days, and the next full moon will occur on Tuesday 26 May.
This next moon, called the “flower moon”, will also be a supermoon.
Ms Ross said: “A supermoon is the result of a full moon occurring when the moon is near its closest point to the Earth in its orbit.
“This can happen because the moon orbits the Earth on an elliptical path, rather than a circular one. As this means that the moon is a little closer to us, it appears slightly bigger in the sky.”
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