Full Moon April 1961: Pink Moon
Not pink at all: named for the early spring wildflower Phlox subulata, the moss pink, one of the first to bloom in April. Times convert to your time zone (showing UTC).
Peak fullness (showing UTC)
- Name
- Pink Moon
- Distance
- 391,628 km
- Type
- Average
About the Pink Moon
Not pink at all: named for the early spring wildflower Phlox subulata, the moss pink, one of the first to bloom in April.
Other names are the Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon and, for coastal tribes, the Fish Moon when shad swam upstream to spawn. In many years the Pink Moon is the Paschal Moon, the first full moon after the March equinox that fixes Easter.
The moon can look reddish near the horizon on any night because of atmospheric scattering, not because of the name.
Lore
The moss pink, Phlox subulata, carpets the ground in early spring, and the April moon took its colour. Coastal tribes called it the Fish Moon for the shad run; farmers called it the Egg Moon for the laying season. It was thought a good moon for planting anything that grows above ground.
Trivia
- The Pink Moon is often the Paschal Moon that sets the date of Easter.
- In 2020 the Pink Moon was the closest supermoon of the year.
- Despite the name, the Moon looks pink only when low in hazy or smoky air.
Second full moon of the month (showing UTC)
- Name
- Blue Moon (Pink Moon)
- Distance
- 380,821 km
- Type
- Average
About the Blue Moon
A second full moon in one calendar month. It happens about every two and a half years and has nothing to do with color.
The monthly definition became popular after a 1946 Sky and Telescope article misread the Maine Farmers' Almanac, which used an older seasonal rule: the third full moon in a season that has four. Both definitions are in use today. The phrase "once in a blue moon" predates both and simply means rarely.
Because the calendar month decides it, a Blue Moon in one time zone can be an ordinary full moon in another when the full moon falls within hours of midnight on the first or last day of the month.
Lore
The phrase once in a blue moon is older than any astronomical definition and originally meant something absurd or never. The modern rule, a second full moon in one calendar month, spread from a 1946 magazine article and a 1980s radio programme. Genuinely blue-looking moons have been seen after huge volcanic eruptions and forest fires, when smoke particles scatter red light.
Trivia
- Monthly Blue Moons happen about every 2.7 years.
- The older seasonal rule calls the third full moon of a season with four the Blue Moon.
- After Krakatoa erupted in 1883 the Moon appeared blue or green for nearly two years.
All moon phases in April 1961
| Phase | Date and time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| Full Moon | |
| Last Quarter | |
| New Moon | |
| First Quarter | |
| Full Moon |
See the whole month day by day on the moon phases calendar for your city.