Tonight’s the night a super pink moon will rise and we could not be more excited. We’re all stuck inside our homes in an effort to slow down COVID-19, which means we literally have nothing better to do than to walk outside at night and take grainy photos of the moon on our outdated iPhones. Love this plan for us!
We spoke about this super moon on today’s episode of It’s Been A Big Day For…
The annual phenomenon occurs when the moon is directly opposite the sun and simultaneously, is also at the closest point to earth during its orbit. Here, the moon will look about 7% larger and 15% brighter than the average full moon. Okay, come through super pink moon!
Now, this may be confusing, but the moon won’t technically be pink – it’ll actually have a slight orange and yellowy colour. The reason we call this super moon a pink moon is because it is named after the blossoming of fuchsia phlox flowers in the States (which happens around this time).
The technical name for the super pink moon spectacle is perigee-syzygy (try saying that five times in a row very quickly!). “Perigee” means the point in which the moon is closest to our planet, and “syzygy” is the term for when the earth, moon and sun are all aligned. Interestingly, tonight will be the largest and brightest we see the moon this year. Yay!
If you want to know how to see the super pink moon, we’ve got the rundown for you. You’re going to want to stand at the highest and darkest possible place to get the best view of the gleaming moon. But, given social distancing, maybe just try turning off all your house lights and walking outside. The moon rises at around 6 pm, but it’ll really come into effect around 11 pm.
According to GlobalNewsHut, these are the best times to view the super pink moon. If you’re in Sydney the peak is at 11:04 pm, if you’re in Melbourne the peak is at 11:22 pm, if you’re in Brisbane the peak is at 11:01 pm, if you’re in Adelaide the peak is at 11:17 pm and if you’re in Perth the peak is at 11:24 pm.
What are you waiting for? Go and dig out your old telescope that was given to you when you were 14, get it set up and watch the super pink moon in all its bright glory! See you on Instagram, but please don’t use an Ariana Grande quote for your caption because I’m doing that…
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