April's full moon generally known as Pink Full Moon will take place on the same day as a lunar eclipse Thursday, reports Space.com
April's Full Moon is generally known as a "pink" full moon, referring to the grass pink or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring season and not because the moon will appear in a pink tint.
Only people in Europe, parts of Asia and Africa will be able to witness it. The moon will look different from other full moon nights because April's full moon night will occur the same night as a lunar eclipse. Both events will take place Thursday..
While a total lunar eclipse is more impressive, the eclipse taking place Thursday night is a partial one. The eclipse will not be visible in North America, since the actual instant of full moon occurs on Thursday afternoon, when the moon is below the horizon. At about 2:04 P.M. EDT, the moon will touch the Earth's shadow and within two hours will move into position.
"During the first 110-minutes of the eclipse, the moon's northern hemisphere pushes ever-so-gradually into the Earth's partial shadow, called the penumbra," Space.com reported. "The outer two-thirds of this are too subtle to detect; but then perhaps by 3:30 p.m. EDT you may realize you are beginning to detect the ever-so-slight gradient of a soft grey darkening around the top of the moon.
