Here's When To See April's Pink Moon

Curious to why everyone is talking about the pink moon? It’s one of the most iconic full moons to occur during the year — since it’s the moon that reflects the start of spring. Even though it won't actually appear pink — it's called "pink moon" because it actually represents a type of pink flower — it's still a major lunar phenomenon, which might leave you wondering: when can you see the pink moon in 2017?

On Apr. 11, 2017, the pink moon will officially be visible in all of its glory starting at 2:08 a.m ET. This iconic full moon started making it’s appearance on Apr. 10, and will stick around until Apr. 12. But, the moon will be at its best at 2:08 a.m. ET exactly.

Obviously the timing of the pink moon will be different for every time zone. For example, Los Angeles will be able to see the full moon at 11:09 p.m. ET on Apr. 10. Denver can see the moon at 12:09 a.m. on Apr. 11, and Chicago at 1:09 a.m. on Apr. 11. To look up your specific city, you can enter it on a Moon Phases and Lunar Calendar courtesy of the Farmer’s Almanac.

Now you may be excited to see a pink moon early in the morning, but here’s something to keep in mind: the moon isn’t actually pink. It will be a normal colored like all other full moons that come out every 29.5 days. The reason it is called the “pink moon” has to do with the way Native Americans record time and seasons. Since this moon came out the same time wild ground phlox (also known as moss pink) was rapidly in bloom, it was easy to determine that this moon was the “pink moon” to represent these popular springtime flowers.

If the pink moon isn’t as appealing for you to stay up for, then there are a bunch of other solar events to gaze at this April 2017. On Apr. 16, the moon will pass really close to Saturn — a mere three degrees apart. On Apr. 21, Mars will come close to the star cluster Pleiades. Apr. 22 is the highly anticipated Lyrid meteor shower — oh, and don’t forget to notice that Saturn is retrograding, meaning it seems to be moving backwards.

So even if you do or don’t stay up until 2:08 a.m. ET this Apr. 11, you still have a ton of star gazing events to attend throughout the month!

Image: Kanok Sulaiman/Moment/Getty Images