WEST MICHIGAN - A full pink moon will dominate the sky this Easter weekend. That's the name of the full moon in the month of April, but it actually won't be pink. The term is given because it is associated with the springtime blossoming of the Phlox subulata plant, a pink wildflower native to eastern North America.
According to the Farmer's Almanac, native American tribes often had names for the full moon each month. 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 average distance the moon is from earth is about 225,000 miles. Unlike previous years where the moon appeared a little bigger due to the supermoon (when the moon is actually closer to the earth), this will be more normal. There will be eight more full moons this year (one for each month), and two more are expected to be supermoons.
Here's something some of us may not know. The moon actually produces our ocean tides. The most obvious effect of tidal forces is to cause two bulges in the Earth's oceans, one on the side facing the Moon and the other on the side opposite. This results in elevated sea levels called ocean tides. As the Earth rotates on its axis, one of the ocean bulges (high tide) is held in place "under" the Moon, while another such tide is opposite. As a result, there are two high tides, and two low tides in about 24 hours. Since the Moon is orbiting the Earth in the same direction of the Earth's rotation, the high tides occur about every 12 hours and 25 minutes.
It's also interesting to note that our moon reflects about seven to nine percent of the incoming sunlight. It's known as albedo (al-be-doe). We all know how bright the evening is on a moonlit night. Image how bright it would be if the moon had more a reflective surface light water or ice? Another fun fact? Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon July 21, 1969 with an estimated 500 million people watching.
Click here for all the full moon names of the year.
