April 2024 Full Moon Is A Pink Moon

 

Full Moon. Credit: NASA - color enhanced by Florida Word.

The April 2024 Full Moon will occur on Tuesday, April 23, 2024,, beginning with a moonrise over Florida's east coast at 7:45 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (with a few minutes of variation depending on your exact location).

The Full Moon will technically be 99.4% full at 12:44 a.m. EDT on April 24.

What does the Pink Moon mean?

A Full Moon in April is also called a Pink Moon because Colonial Americans learned that name from Native Americans who associated the April Full Moon with the blooming of pink flowers in early Spring named wild ground phlox, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. 

Other names for April’s Full Moon are also associated with Springtime: Full Sprouting Grass Moon (sprouting vegetation in Spring), Egg Moon (animal mating in Spring), and Full Fish Moon (when fish spawn in spring).

What causes a Pink Moon?

The time of year that a Full Moon happens does not affect its color.  The Full Moon on April 23, 2024 will likely be pearly-gray to most locations on Earth just like any other Full Moon. But particles in the local atmosphere caused by weather, forest fires, volcanoes, and pollution can filter out certain light colors of the moon. 

This is especially true when the moon rises or sets near the horizon and the sunlight reflecting from the moon has more atmosphere to travel through before reaching the viewer on Earth. Full Moons have appeared pink, yellow, red, blue, green, and (most often) orange.

Full Moon High Tide

For those planning to walk, bike, or run along the beach in Florida, this Full Moon brings along with it a 4 ft. + Atlantic Ocean high tide on the east coast and a 2 ft. + high tide on Florida's Gulf Coast.