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Pink Moon illuminated Friday night’s sky

Posted at 10:28 AM, Apr 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-20 10:30:59-04

Moon gazers reveled as April’s full moon, known as the Pink Moon, premiered Friday night.

The moon appeared larger than average because it appeared three days past perigee, the point in its orbit when it is nearest to Earth, according to Space.com.

Although the name suggests the moon appeared a certain color, that is not true. Instead the moon is named pink after the color of wild ground phlox, one of the early spring flowers. American Indians named the moons so they could keep track of their harvesting schedule.

The moon also appeared red or orange because of dust, haze, smoke or ash in the atmosphere.

The next full moon will be the Flower Moon on May 18.