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It is expected that the Pink Moon will illuminate the night of Friday, April 19, when the lunar orb will reach its maximum brightness. Here in the UK, the moon will reach its full light about eight hours before sneaking out at the evening's horizon. The Full Moon will reach its peak at 12:12 BST (11:12 UTC), but will only be visible after 20:05 BST (19:05 UTC). However, once the Moon rises to the horizon, it will be the brightest of all months – but will it be pink?
Will the Full Moon turn pink this week?
Enthusiastic observers of astronomy may be disappointed to learn that the moon will not turn pink this week, although some full moons have become reddish.
The moon never really changes color and any change in hue visible at night is caused by atmospheric effects.
The sinister moon of blood for example, when the moon takes a dark orange to red color, is due to the diffusion of sunlight refracted in the dusty atmosphere of the Earth during a lunar eclipse.
A pink moon, however, can ascribe its strange name to the time-honored traditions of Native American tribes on the east coast of America.
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Pink Moon 2019: The full moon of April rises on Friday April 19th (Image: GETTY)
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, a guide to nature and astronomy, it was common to name the phases of the Moon according to the changing landscape.
The Full Moon of June, for example, is known as the Strawberry Moon because wild strawberries are ready to be picked at this time of the year.
And the Full Beaver Moon in November marked the time to chase the critters to their teeth for their warm skins before winter.
According to this tradition, the Pink Moon takes its name from a particular species of wild flowers, which gives a pink color to the fields as soon as it springs in the first days of spring.
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The terrestrial phlox or phlox stolonifera is a type of creeping wildflower native to the United States, from the Appalachian Mountains to Pennsylvania and northern Georgia.
April's Full Moon is known as the Full Pink Moon
Amy Nieskens, from the Almanac du Vieux Agriculteur, explains: "April's Full Moon is known as the Full Pink Moon because it announces the appearance of the wild group Phlox or pink moss, one of the first flowers of the spring.
"It's also known by many other names as early spring, including the moon to sprout, the egg moon and the moon fish.
"This month, the gardening season is in full swing in many parts of the country."
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Pink Moon 2019: despite its name, the moon will not turn pink on April 19 (Image: GETTY)
Many of the names of the Moon prescribed by the Native inhabitants of America were adopted by colonial Europeans and made their way into the modern vernacular language.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich in London said: "Over time, different cultures have given names to the full moon of the lunar calendar.
"Many of the Moon's nicknames came to us from Native American culture because, for their way of life, the lunar phases cycles were as important a timekeeping tool as the longer solar cycle of the year, defined by the movement of the sun.
"The number of moon names differs slightly from one tribe to another, but many attribute 12 or 13 full moons to the year."
What other Full Moon names are there this year?
- January 10 – Full Wolf Moon
- February 9 – full moon of snow
- March 21 – Full Worm Moon
- April 19 – Full Moon Rose
- May 18 – full moon flower
- June 17 – Moon with strawberries
- July 16 – Full Buck Moon
- August 15 – Full moon sturgeon
- September 14 – full moon harvest
- October 13 – Hunter's full moon
- November 12 – Full Beaver Moon
- December 12 – Full Cold Moon
Pink Moon 2019: The moon takes its name from the blooming of ground phlox flowers (Image: GETTY)
Old Farmer's Almanac said: "Each tribe that named full moons – and / or lunar months – had its own naming preferences.
"Some would use 12 names for the year while others could use 5, 6 or 7; also, some names might change next year.
"A complete Moon name used by one tribe may differ from the one used by another tribe for the same period, or be the same name but represent a different period.
"The name itself was often a description of a particular activity / event that usually occurred during that time at their location."
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