April’s super "pink" moon will be the brightest full moon of 2020 By Smithsonian.com, adapted by Newsela staff on 04.06.20 Word Count 464 Level 420L

Image 1. This supermoon on March 9, 2020, called a Worm Moon, was the first of three supermoons in a row. Here, it rises behind the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. A supermoon occurs when the moon's orbit is closest to Earth. Photo: Joel Kowsky/NASA

A special moon is coming. It is called a super pink moon.

The super pink moon will be on April 7. It is called a supermoon, too. It will be the brightest supermoon of 2020.

In April, the full moon peaks at 10:35 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. It is called EDT for short. EDT is the time for the East Coast of the United States. When it is 10:00 p.m. on the East Coast it is 7 p.m. on the West Coast. The West Coast is on Pacific Standard Time. It is called PST for short. This is because different parts of the world are in different time zones.

A supermoon comes with a full moon. It happens when the moon is at perigee. Perigee is the closest point in its path around Earth.

Moon Will Not Be Pink

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. The moon will not be pink. It will be orange starting out. It will get white later. The pink name comes from pink flowers called phlox. They bloom in spring.

Supermoons look a little bigger and brighter than a regular full moon. A supermoon might not look very different. The moon seems bigger because of its path around Earth. It is not really a circle. The moon moves around the Earth. It moves in circles.

On April 7, the moon will be closer to Earth. It is still far away, though.

The word "supermoon" is not a science name. That name is "perigee-syzygy." The word supermoon came from Richard Noelle. That was in 1979.

Jackie Faherty is a scientist. She works at the American Museum of Natural History. It is in New York. She said the name supermoon was not from science. Mr. Noelle used it for when the moon was full and close to Earth, she said.

People started using it, she said.

Names For A Full Moon

There are other names for a full moon in April. Some are Egg Moon and Fish Moon. One is Sprouting Grass Moon. The names are about spring. The super pink moon is a Paschal Moon, too. It is the first full moon of spring. Easter is on the Sunday after the Paschal Moon. Easter is April 12 in 2020.

April will have other things. On April 3, the planet Venus will be near some stars. The stars are called the Seven Sisters. Then a meteor shower will come later in April. NASA is the U.S. space group. It says that a meteor is a space rock. It falls toward Earth. The air glows as the rock flies along.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 Which sentence from the Introduction [paragraphs 1-4] explains WHY a supermoon is different from other moons?

(A) A special moon is coming.

(B) It will be the brightest supermoon of 2020.

(C) In April, the full moon peaks at 10:35 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

(D) It happens when the moon is at perigee.

2 WHO in the article created the name "supermoon"?

(A) Richard Noelle

(B) Jackie Faherty

(C) NASA

(D) American Museum of Natural History

3 HOW is a supermoon different from other moons?

(A) It is the color pink.

(B) It is bigger and brighter.

(C) It can be seen all day long.

(D) It is farther from the Earth.

4 WHY do people call full moons in April "Egg Moon," "Fish Moon" and "Sprouting Grass Moon"?

(A) because they describe how the moons look

(B) because the moons bring in eggs and fish

(C) because the moons appear in spring

(D) because they see more wildlife when the moons appear

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.