April's full moon generally known as Pink Full Moon will be seen on April 15 and a lunar eclipse will also occur on the same day, according to media reports.
April's Full Moon is generally known as a "pink" full moon, referring to the grass pink or wild ground phlox, which are one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring season and not because the moon will appear in a pink tint. According to the Epoch Times report, the full moon will occur on April 15, 2014 at 3:42 am ET.
At the same time, an upcoming lunar eclipse will begin at 2 am EST with the moon appearing completely red at approximately 3 am. The occurrence is expected to end at about 4:25 am.
During this time, themoon will have a reddish hue because the sunlight passing through the earth's atmosphere becomes tinted red as seen during sunrise and sunset. This red light reaches the moon and gives it a red tint.
The April 15 moon is also called the "Paschal Full Moon," which is the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Easter was usually celebrated on the Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon.
The upcoming lunar eclipse is also called a tetrad lunar eclipse, the first of the four total eclipses that will occur over the next year-and-a-half with intervals of two months. According to a News Tonight report, the eclipse may resemble the "Four Blood Moons" based on the prophecy in the Book of Genesis and the Book of Joel in the Hebrew Bible.
"During the 21st century, there are 9 sets of tetrads, so I would describe tetrads as a frequent occurrence in the current pattern of lunar eclipses," said NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak. "But this has not always been the case. During the three hundred year interval from 1600 to 1900, for instance, there were no tetrads at all."
The Pink Moon and eclipse will be visible to sky watchers across North America as well as the entire United States. Last year, the Pink Full Moon took place April 25 and was visible to people in Europe, parts of Asia and Africa.
