Expect a Full Pink Moon to Shine This Entire Weekend

The full moon sets behind Stonehenge in Amesbury, England, on April 27, 2021. (Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

Apr 15, 2022

April’s full moon will illuminate the sky this entire weekend, and while it’s called the pink moon, it’s not actually that color.

The pink moon will appear full from early Friday to Monday morning, according to NASA. It will be at its peak fullness on Saturday, April 16, at 2:55 p.m. ET.

The moon is associated with the springtime blossoming of the Phlox subulata plant, a pink wildflower native to eastern North America, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The plant is commonly known as creeping phlox, moss phlox, or mountain phlox.

Native American names for April’s full moon were homages to the spring season, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The Dakota tribe dubbed it the “moon when the streams are again navigable,” while the Tlingit tribe called it “budding moon of plants and shrubs,” in reference to the end of winter and the resurgence of plant growth.

The pink moon also aligns with several religious holidays, according to NASA. It’s called the Paschal moon in the Christian ecclesiastical calendar, because it’s the full moon before Easter. For Hindus, this moon marks Hanuman Jayanti, the celebration of the Hindu monkey deity Lord Hanuman. The pink moon is Bak Poya for Buddhists, especially in Sri Lanka, and commemorates Buddha’s visit to the island country, where Buddha prevented a war by settling a dispute between chiefs.

Unlike the last two years, this April’s pink moon will not be a supermoon. However, it still comes with its own folklore. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, “A full moon in April brings frost. If the full moon rises pale, expect rain.”

“There certainly is a chance of rain or frost this weekend. There is also a chance of neither,” said CNN Meteorologist Judson Jones. “But in some areas of the Midwest, people will see some below-average morning temperatures this weekend, which may leave them wishing for a pale moon.”

After the pink moon, there are eight full moon events still to come in 2022, with two of them qualifying as supermoons. Here’s a list of the remaining moons for 2022, according to the Farmers’ Almanac:

May 16: Flower moon
June 14: Strawberry moon
July 13: Buck moon
August 11: Sturgeon moon
September 10: Harvest moon
October 9: Hunter’s moon
November 8: Beaver moon
December 7: Cold moon

While these are the popularized names associated with the monthly full moons, the significance of each one may vary across Native American tribes.