A full moon also known as the pink moon will be visible in the UAE and other parts of the world until Thursday, having first appeared in the skies on Tuesday.
With each day, it will become less visible as the Moon gets closer to the third quarter phase, during which it is only a third of the size compared to when fully illuminated.
Why is it called a pink moon?
The full moon in April is called the pink moon, US space agency Nasa says.
The Moon is not really pink during this celestial event.
It is called that because it was when a plant known as herb moss pink would bloom in the 1930s.
“The Maine Farmers' Almanac began publishing ‘Indian’ names for full moons in the 1930s and these names are now widely known and used,” Nasa says.
“According to this almanac, as the full moon [rose] in April the tribes of the north-eastern United States called this the pink moon, named after the herb moss pink, also known as creeping phlox, moss phlox, or mountain phlox, a plant native to the eastern USA that is one of the earliest widespread flowers of spring.”
Other names for this moon include the sprouting grass moon and egg moon.
Last month, there was a “worm moon” visible.
It was given that name by farmers many decades ago because it signified the start of the spring season, when earthworm casts appeared as the ground thawed.
On July 21, the first supermoon of the year will appear in the skies above the UAE.
It is a phenomenon when the Moon is closer than usual to the Earth and appears larger.
And it is called a buck moon to signify the new antlers that emerge on a deer buck’s forehead around that time.
Fully illuminated Moon
A full moon is when the Earth lies between the Sun and the Moon, causing the lunar surface to be fully illuminated and visible as a bright disc.
This is different from a new moon, which is when it is positioned between the Earth and the Sun, allowing its unlit side to face the planet and making it invisible in the night sky.
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