Start seeing what looks like a full moon on Friday. Full moons tend to look full just before their date and the day afterwards.
In 2022, April’s full moon reaches total illumination at 1:55 p.m. EDT on Saturday the 16th and will continue to appear full on Sunday. It is not a SuperMoon. The moon will appear to be larger the morning of April 19 when it will be at its perigee (closest to Earth) at 11:14 EDT.
Known as the Pink Moon, the April full moon derives its name from the season when pink creeping (moss) phlox bloom and not from an atmospheric moon color.
As with other full moon names, it echoes what is happening in nature so other names range from Breaking Ice Moon to Awakening Moon.
March’s full moon, which fell before the Spring Equinox was called the Worm Moon when worms emerge in early Spring.
But the March and April Full Moons can be the Paschal Moon depending on when the full moon falls: before or after the Spring Equinox.
The Paschal Moon is often used to determine the Easter date. So, the moon in March or April can be called the Paschal Moon. Visit the Old Farmer’s Almanac for more information on the Spring Equinox and April Full Moon. Also see Time and Date on How Easter is Determined.
The April full moon is also the Pesach Moon for the Jewish feast of Passover which begins at sundown April 15 and is celebrated with Seders on the first two evenings. Paschal is a Latinized word for Pesach.
For more Full Moon info visit NASA Solar System Exploration.
