‘Pink’ supermoon will light up our skies tonight
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Looking up at the sky tonight, you can expect to see a full moon making its closest approach to Earth this month in a phenomenon described as a supermoon.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In North America, the April full moon is also known as a “pink” moon.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the name it actually isn’t pink in colour. According to folklore, the moon is named for the first pink flower of the season.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the Moon will look full for the whole of tonight, the full moon happens at a specific point in time in astronomy, when the Moon is directly opposite the Sun (syzygy).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This year, the full moon occurs just after midday on April 26th in every state except Western Australia, where it falls at 11am.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">12 hours later, perigee happens, where the Moon comes within 357,378 kilometres from Earth.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Because perigee happens within 24 hours of a full moon, it’s also called a “supermoon”. But astronomers prefer to call this kind of “supermoon” a perigee-syzygy moon.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whatever name you choose to call it, you can see the Moon in all its glory from the moment it rises.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The astronomical full moon is 12 hours away from perigee, but to the casual observer it makes no difference,” says casual astronomer Ian Musgrave.</span></p>
<p>When can I see the supermoon?</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though the Moon will look huge as it rises just above the horizon, the time to see the Moon at its closest point will be just before or after midnight, depending on your time zone.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For those in AEST time, the Moon will be its largest at 1.22am on April 28, while those in ACST and AWST can catch the phenomenon at 12.52am and 11.22pm respectively.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In reality, it can be hard to tell the difference between a supermoon, normal full moon, and mini moon with the naked eye.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“But if you are measuring the Moon in a telescope, you’ll see it get bigger as it gets higher in the sky [and] as it gets closer to actual perigee,” Dr Musgrave says.</span></p>
<p>How common are supermoons?</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surprisingly, supermoons occur pretty frequently. Last year, there were three supermoons, including a pink one.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, the actual number of supermoons depends on how you define the term, according to astronomer Andrew Jacob of Sydney Observatory.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The term was originally coined in 1979 to describe full moons and new moons that occur when the Moon is within 90 per cent of perigee.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some define supermoons by the 24-hour rule, while others believe a supermoon occurs when the Moon is less than 360,000 kilometres from Earth.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Under the first rule, there are two super full moons this year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Using the second rule, there are three super full moons and two super new moons occurring this year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The next super full moon will fall in May. Not only will it be slightly closer than the April full moon, it will also be a total lunar eclipse across Australia.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This means the Moon will actually change colour as it passes through Earth’s shadow and will be red. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Known as a “blood moon”, the colour is caused by sunlight that is filtered and refracted as it passes through the atmosphere. </span></p>
