Super Pink Moon 2020: What is a Super Pink moon? Catch the biggest, brightest full moon in India today, 8.05 am IST

When the full moon appears at perigee it is slightly brighter and larger than a regular full moon is a "supermoon."

Tech2 News Staff|Apr 08, 2020, 08:49:00 IST

Have you got time on your hands? We know you do!Get ready for this year's second supermoon. It is the Pink supermoon or Super Pink Moon or the Paschal Moon. It will be visible from moonrise on Tuesday, 7 April and moonset the following morning on Wednesday, 8 April. However, for the people living in India, the moon will be visible at 8.05 am IST in India.You can watch the Pink Supermoon online.

What is a Supermoon?

According to NASA, a supermoon takes place when a full moon is at its closest to the Earth. The moon revolves around our planet in an elliptical orbit i.e. as an oval and it has a farthest and closest point from the earth as it goes around.[caption id="attachment_8232571" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

The pink supermoon gets its named from the pink wildflower that bloom during spring in North America.[/caption]The farthest point in this eclipse is called the apogee and is about 405,500 kilometres from Earth on average. At its closest point, the perigee is an average distance of about 363,300 kilometres from Earth.When the full moon appears at perigee it is slightly brighter and larger than a regular full moon — and that, my friends, is what we call a "supermoon."Also Read: Super Pink Moon 2020: How year's biggest and brightest supermoon, set for 8 April, got its name

What is a Pink Supermoon?

While this year has a couple of supermoons popping up, this pink supermoon is slated to be the biggest and brightest of the lot.Why is that, you ask? Well, this one will be the closest the moon will get to the earth than any of the other full moons. The first supermoon of this year was on 9 March and the last one will take place on 7 May.Another reason is that supermoons are also seven percent bigger and about 15 percent brighter than the usual full moons.

How did it get its name?

We are sad to say but unlike the Blood moons that have a tinge of red to it, the Pink moons do not have even a hint of pink in it. It gets its name from the pink wildflowers – Wild Ground Phlox – that bloom in the spring and are native to North America.According to Time and Date, other names for this full moon include Sprouting Grass Moon, Fish Moon, Hare Moon, and Egg Moon.It is also called Paschal moon because, in the Christian calendar, this is used to calculate the date for Easter – the first Sunday after the Paschal moon is Easter Sunday.

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