Tonight's 'Pink Moon' Is Biggest and Brightest Supermoon of the Year

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Hunkered down inside all day? There's a big reason to venture outside and look up at the sky tonight.

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The April "Pink Moon," is not only a supermoon, but it's also the biggest and brightest of 2020.

According to NASA, the moon will be full tonight, appearing opposite the sun at 10:35 PM EDT. It will continue to appear full at night through Thursday morning.

This full moon is called the "Pink Moon" because of a type of pink herb moss that is one of the earliest widespread flowers of spring.

It's a supermoon because it's within 90% of perigee, or its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit. For 2020, the four full moons from February to May meet this threshold, according to NASA. Although March and April's full moons are nearly tied in size and brightness, the "Pink Moon" will be slightly — about 0.1% — closer to Earth.

Tonight's moon is also the Pesach or Passover moon, signaling the middle of the Hebrew month of Nisan and the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Generally, the Easter holiday is also celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring, giving it yet another name — the Pascal Moon. 

Another feature of tonight's sky? If it's a clear night, Venus may also be visible, about 32 degrees above the horizon in the west-northwest as evening twilight ends, according to NASA.

Later this month, on April 28, Venus will reach its peak brightness and may even be visible during the day – just make sure to stay six feet away from those around you!

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