Pink Supermoon visible over Ireland and the world

A Pink Supermoon will be visible over Ireland however, it won't look any more pink than usual but it will appear orange and larger than usual.

During the early hours of April 8, 2020, a Pink Supermoon will be visible in the skies above Ireland, peaking at about 3.35 am. Despite its name, the moon will look like any other full moon.

So why the name? The name comes from Northern Native Americans who were referencing an early-blooming wildflower, the Wild Ground Phlox, which grows in the United States and Canada in spring.

In other cultures, the Pink Moon is known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon or even the Fish Moon.

Stargazers can expect to see a full moon that's up to 14 percent largest and 30 percent brighter than usual. This occurs as the moon reaches its closest point to Earth, known as its perigee. This natural phenomenon is always linked to the date of Easter because it appears after the spring equinox.

The moon will not look pink as the name and the flower it's named for might suggest. It will, in fact, look more orange if anything. This is due to its perigee, its distance from the Earth. Us stargazers will be viewing the moon through the Earth's atmosphere, an oxygen and nitrogen-rich atmosphere. This filters out the bluer wavelengths of the white moonlight. This is known as light refraction with more of the red component of moonlight traveling directly to the viewer's eye.

This, the April supermoon is the third of the year. The last one, the worm moon, appeared on March 9. Next month, on May 7, will bring the Flower Moon.