Pink and the Perigee Moon

Astronomy Picture of the Day · 2021-04-30 · NASA (public domain)

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Pink and the Perigee Moon — APOD for 2021-04-30

On April 25 a nearly full moon rose just before sunset. Welcomed in a clear blue sky and framed by cherry blossoms, its familiar face was captured in this snapshot from Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. Known to some as a Pink Moon , April's full lunar phase occurred with the moon near perigee. That's the closest point in its not-quite-circular orbit around planet Earth, making this Pink Moon one of the closest and brightest full moons of the year. If you missed it, don't worry . Your next chance to see a full perigee moon will be on May 26. Known to some as a Flower Moon , May's full moon will actually be closer to you than April's by about 98 miles (158 kilometers), or about 0.04% the distance from the Earth to the Moon at perigee.

Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2021-04-30 — image & explanation courtesy of NASA (public domain), mirrored at Tukuk-OS for reading and search convenience.

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