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Super Pink Moon lights up skies across the world in stunning pictures
8 April 2020, 11:37
Amid lockdown across different parts of the world, people were treated to some beautiful scenes last night as a Super Pink Moon lit up the skies.
Last night, April 7, the moon appeared the biggest and brightest of the year as people witnessed the Super Pink Moon.
The moon appeared large for millions of people across the world as it had reached it's closest point to Earth.
The moon was visible for many just after sunset, with the peak illumination being around 10:35PM for those in the UK.
Now, pictures from around the world of the Super Pink Moon have been shared from London to Italy, Russia and Colorado.
Although the moon is named a 'pink' moon, the Super Moon wasn't actually pink, as this is a name it gets from many cultures, including Native American tribes, who name moons certain things as a way to keep track of time.
The pink name comes from the pink flowers, wild ground phlox, which bloom in the early stages of Spring.
NASA explain on their website: "The term 'supermoon' was coined in 1979 and is often used today to describe what astronomers would call a perigean (pear-ih-jee-un) full moon: a full moon occurring near or at the time when the Moon is at its closest point in its orbit around Earth.
"The term gives preference to the geometric alignment of Sun-Earth-Moon and allows the occurrence of perigee into a wider time period than the actual instant of perigee (up to about two weeks, which is almost half of the Moon’s orbit)."
