This is a good calendar week for astrophiles , lunar fanatics , and wolfman , as the full Moon this week is going to be a special one : it will be a Mini - Moon .
On Thursday , the Moon will be at its culmination , its farthest point from Earth at more than 400,000 kilometre ( 249,000 stat mi ) away . The apogee will be reach at 12:06 p.m. EDT ( 5:06 p.m. BST ) on April 21 , and the full Moon will be reached at 1:25 a.m. EDT ( 6:25 a.m. BST ) on April 22 .
The Mini - Moon , technically experience as an culmination - syzygy of the Earth - Moon - Sun system ( when all three object align ) , happens because the Moon ’s rotation around our satellite and its phase oscillation do n’t last the same amount time . People consider it a Mini - Moon if the culmination and full Moon happen within 24 hours of each other , and Mini - Moons go on about once a year .
Mini - Moons are not as well - known as Supermoons , which take place when a full Moon is at its closest advance to Earth ( perigee ) . A Mini - Moon reckon approximately 14 percent smaller and 25 to 30 percent dimmer than a Supermoon .
Comparison between the 2011 Supermoon and Mini - Moon by Ken_Lord viaFlickr CC BY - NC - SA 2.0
April ’s full Moon is traditionally call aFull Pink Moon , named by the Algonquin Indians as it is associate with moss pink , one of the first blossoming plants of springiness . The Moon will not actually change color , and no matter what you might have learn on the cyberspace in the preceding few day , it most definitely won’tturn green .
For hoi polloi interested in both the Mini - Moon and its function in traditional farming , Slooh and The Old Farmer ’s Almanac will have a hot webcast about the Pink Mini - Moon on Thursday , April 21 , at 8 p.m. EDT ( 1 a.m. BST ) .
you’re able to go toSlooh.comto join and watch this alive program ( embedded below ) , bust and apportion your own pic during the outcome , chat with audience member , interact with the hosts , and in person control Slooh ’s scope .
The next Mini - Moon will be on June 9 , 2017 , but a rare occurrence will happen the year after when we will have a Mini - Moon have alunar eclipse , which will happen on July 27 , 2018 .
