‘Pink moon’ stargazers hoping to see rare phenomenon left baffled when in turns out to be orange
The incredible natural phenomenon is traditionally associated with Easter
STARGAZERS were left confused when tonight's pink moon turned out to be orange.
Amateur astronomers the world over shared their pictures and frustration at the spectacular celestial phenomenon.
The annual event, which is also known as the "sprouting grass moon" or the "egg moon" is traditionally associated with Easter as it occurs every April.
But despite being commonly referred to as the "pink moon", it's actually a slightly pale orange colour.
The confusing name has its roots in a pink-coloured spring flower that appears at the same time rather than the colour of the moon itself.
Perplexed stargazers shared their confusion on social media.
Alexa Ashley wrote: "Twas supposed to be a pink moon, but..."
Her post was accompanied by pictures of the orange-tinged moon.
Shann Gallagher sobbed: "I wish tonight's pink moon was actually going to be pink."
And Andy Rhind-Tutt said: "Beautiful pink moon tonight - only more orange than pink!"
Another user added: "The pink moon is amazing tonight, though it looks more orange to me!
"Still pretty though!"
The spring flower from which the moon takes its name is the Wild Ground Phlox, which is very pink and appears in the US at the same time as April's full moon.
This natural phenomenon is always linked to the date of Easter because it appears after the spring equinox.
The pink moon will look orange as it rises because when a large full moon is seen low in the sky it is being viewed through a greater thickness of the Earth's atmosphere.
Earth's oxygen and nitrogen-rich atmosphere filters out the bluer wavelengths of white moonlight when the moon is close to the horizon as it rises.
This filtering process, known as light refraction, results in more of the red component of moonlight travelling directly into your eye.
The different types of moons
Here are some of the most interesting moon phases and when to see them...
A Blue Moon refers to the occasion when a full moon appears for the second time in the same month, this is very rare and the next Blue Moon should occur on Halloween in 2020.
The Harvest Moon appears around the time of the autumnal equinox when farmers tend to do their main crop harvesting.
A Supermoon appears when it is at its closest point to Earth and therefore at its brightest, the next one will appear in September.
A Blood Moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse, the next one should happen in May 2020.
Each month of the year actually has its own special full moon phenomenon, they are as follows:
- January: Wolf Moon
- February: Snow Moon
- March: Worm Moon
- April: Pink Moon
- May: Flower Moon
- June: Strawberry Moon
- July: Buck Moon
- August: Sturgeon Moon
- September: Full Corn Moon
- October: Hunter's Moon
- November: Beaver Moon
- December: Cold Moon.
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Therefore the moon will appear red or orange to you.
The moon can only really appear to have turned pink during a total lunar eclipses, which is often referred to as a Blood Moon.
The next half Blood Moon is set to take place in July this year and should be visible from some parts of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
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