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SuperPinkMoon: The Perigee
On April 7-8, 2020, the world will witness again the Supermoon. In the Philippines we can observe this astronomical phenomenon at 2:09AM PST (Philippine Standard Time) on April 8, 2020. The full moon in the Philippines will occur at 2AM PST with 99% surface illumination.The Moon will have its closest approach (perigee) with a distance of 356,906.8 Km.
Where did the names of the Moon come from?
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Figure 1: Perigee and Apogee of the Moon (NASA/JPL/USGS/Encyclopaedia Britannica)
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The previous month’s full moon name is Worm Moon and this month's name is Pink Moon. The full moon names came from different cultures. The old Farmers’ Almanac gathered all information and came up with this list of names. These names came from Native Americans of North America and is culturally not applicable in the Philippines. They used these names to track the seasons of the year.
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Figure 2: Wild Ground Phlox (Adobe Stock)
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What does Pink Moon mean? According to the old Farmers’ Almanac, Pink Moon’s name came from an herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox. It's one of the first spring flowers observed during the seasonal change. Different cultures also name the Full Moon of April as Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg moon, and Fish moon.
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Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 3: rising Moon at Lick Observatory atop Mt. Hamilton, March 2012 (Baldridge, R. Sky and Telescope)
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Some people think the Moon will turn pink due to its name. However, it will not happen. The only time the Moon can be observe to have a reddish color is during a Total Lunar Eclipse, and when the Moon is near the horizon it will have an orange coloration and will be observed bigger. This is due to the interaction of light with the Earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere scatters that light that passes through. In the horizon where the maximum thickness of the atmosphere is located, the blue spectrum of light is absorbed, and the red light is emitted.
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