The Financial Express : Apr 07, 2020, 05:53 PM
Science: One of the major lunar events India is going to witness this week is a Pink Super Moon. This appearance of the moon is considered as the brightest and the biggest. While a full moon (moon is completely visible in a circular form) comes once in a month, the Super Moon is a bit different from it. Just like a full moon, the Super Moon too is visible as a complete circle but it appears more bright and bigger in size. According to NASA, a Super Moon can be witnessed when the moon is close to the earth. It is to note that a Pink Super Moon is at a distance of 3,57,085 km from earth whereas the usual distance between Earth and Moon is around 384,000 km.The experts have stated that the distance between Earth and Moon during the Pink Super Moon is less because of the elliptical orbit of the Moon around the Earth (orbit is not completely circular). Therefore, the angle of orbit changes a bit. Also, the Moon’s size is expected to be 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than what it usually is.When will it be visible?The Pink Super Moon will be visible this week on April 7 late night and April 8 morning. In India, it is likely to be visible at 8 am on April 8. This phenomenon was once seen last month and after April’s appearance, it will be again visible in May this year. Meanwhile, the appearance of the Moon is expected to be the shortest on October 31, 2020.The Moon’s appearance has also been named for every month. According to some reports, unlike Blood Moon (when the appearance is somewhat red), Pink Moon has received its name from Wild Ground Phlox flowers which bloom in spring. These flowers are native to North America.