Will Pink Moon light up weekend sky, here’s what experts say

Skygazers may get to witness a rare 'pink moon' this weekend. Well while social media is abuzz with anticipation for the celestial event, the scientific community has cleared the air that such moniker is misleading.

Suvendu Patnaik, the deputy director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium in Bhubaneswar on Friday explained that the ‘Pink Moon’ gets its name from the season and not because of the colour of the moon. 

This April moon is associated with the springtime blossoming of a certain pink wildflower native to eastern North America and hence the name Pink Moon. The Native American tribes colloquially refer and attribute such names to the moon on all full moon days.

But instead the moon this weekend will actually glow orange, explained Patnaik.

“Pink Moon marks the arrival of spring and does not actually resemble the colour pink. There will be no change in the size or any other aspect of the moon tomorrow (April 16),” said Patnaik.

As per a CNN report quoting the US Space Agency NASA, unlike the last two years, this April's pink moon will not be a supermoon.
There are eight full moon events still to come in 2022, with two of them qualifying as supermoons, said the report.