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Why You Need To Wait To See The ‘Easter Pink Moon’ Rise To Set Up A Rare Total Solar Eclipse

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Sooner or later, the Moon is bound to block the Sun and cause a total solar eclipse. It doesn’t happen very often—roughly only once per year, usually less—but that’s exactly what this month’s full Moon will cause two weeks later.

Before that dramatic event on the date of the next New Moon, the so-called “Pink Moon”—named after the seasonal blooming of wild ground phlox in North America—will rise into evening skies on Thursday, April 6, 2023.

That exact date is important to Christians, because it determines the date of Easter, a lunar celebration that this year occurs on Sunday, April 9, 2023. As such, this “Pink Moon” will also be known as the “Paschal Moon.”

Here’s everything you need to know about this month’s very special full Moon, when to get into position and where to look to see the fabulous full “Pink Moon” appear on the horizon in a blaze of orange:

Best times to see the ‘Pink Moon’ from where you are

Here are the exact times to see April’s “Pink Moon” from a few key cities, but do check the exact times of moonrise and moonset for your location. If you don’t see the full Moon peek above the horizon at precisely these times, don’t worry. It will appear very soon after.

It’s not the best month for seeing a full moonrise from Europe and North America because there is no evening when the full Moon rises shortly after sunset. However, it’s Thursday—rather than the day of the full Moon on Wednesday—that will offer the best match-up:

Just after sunset on Thursday, April 6, 2023

Thursday evening offers the best opportunity to see the full “Pink Moon” rise into a twilight sky from both Europe and North America:

  • In London sunset is at 7:40 p.m. BST and moonrise is at 8:16 p.m. BST (full Moon is at 4:36 a.m.).
  • In New York sunset is at 7:25 p.m. EDT and moonrise is at 8:11 p.m. EDT (the moment of full Moon is at 11:36 p.m. EDT the previous evening).
  • In Los Angeles sunset is at 7:17 p.m. PDT and moonrise is at 8:08 p.m. PDT (the moment of full Moon is at 8:36 p.m. PDT the previous evening).

Why will the ‘Pink Moon’ cause a total solar eclipse?

The Moon moves around our planet in an orbital path a few degrees inclined to the path of the Sun through our daytime sky. However, every half a year it crosses the path of the Sun—a line in the sky known as the ecliptic, and for a good reason. That’s because when the Moon does reach that position it can block the Sun.

This “Pink Moon” puts our satellite into the perfect position to cause a solar eclipse half-an-orbit later—and it’s the most special kind possible. The Moon has a slightly elliptical orbit of Earth, so sometimes it’s slightly smaller or larger in the sky. On April 20, 2023, it will be precisely the right size to block the Moon entirely for about one minute.

Eclipse-chasers who have manoeuvred themselves to some very select areas of Western Australia, Timor-Leste and West Papua, in Indonesia, will experience a rare totality.

Why is this total solar eclipse rare?

The solar eclipse on April 20, 2023 will be a hybrid solar eclipse. This is a much misunderstood kind of solar eclipse that occurs only seven times in the 21st century. A hybrid solar eclipse is essentially the result of the curvature of our planet where a New Moon is precisely the right size to just barely block 100% of the Sun. Nowhere along the path of totality will the full eclipse visible for more than 74 seconds, which makes it an exceptionally short total solar eclipse. What’s more, at the extreme points of that path of totality—just as the moonshadow strikes, and when it is about to leave, Earth—the Moon will be slightly too small to block the Sun, resulting in an annular “ring of fire” solar eclipse. Practically speaking, these points are in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, respectively, and besides, annularity there only last for a few seconds, if at all.

A “proper” annular solar eclipse (also called a “ring of fire”) next happens across the US, Mexico and South America on October 14, 2023.

So in a few weeks, you’ll hear about some intrepid eclipse-chasers, who have sailed to remote islands, or traveled to remote areas of the world to experiencing a very brief totality—and it will be all thanks to next week’s full “Pink Moon.”

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.

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