Earth Day moon watchers may have been disappointed to find that the touted “pink moon” event turned out to be a normal-looking gray. What’s the deal? Why is it a pink moon when it isn’t pink? After all, the “blood moon” that occurred in the fall was red.
The Christian Science Monitor offers an explanation.
The pink moon that occurred on Thursday is actually a regular event that gets its name from native Americans who associated the event with the yearly blooming of one of spring’s first flowers, the pink phlox. It is also known as the fish moon and the egg moon.
Although not pink, the moon was very small. This full moon occurs at the point when Earth and its moon are at their apogee – the farthest points apart. It can also look extremely bright, illuminated by the sun with the Earth lined up at a point in between. Astronomers have been calling it the Mini Pink Moon.
Lacking formal calendars for tracking time, many tribes of native Americans had names for the full moon, which they used to mark season changes. Colonial Americans adopted many of these names. For example, May’s full moon is known as the full flower moon, signaling this time of year is good for starting flowers and other crops. June’s full moon is the strawberry moon, coinciding with the fresh berry harvest.
Be ready for the Mini Pink Moon’s opposite on Nov. 14, which will mark the next Super Moon. That event marks the night that the moon and Earth are the closest together.