April's pink moon to be visible this week: Things to note

Chennai: The season of the full moon is known as the 'Pink Moon' season of April month. Named for the wildflowers that bloom in early spring in eastern North America, the pink moon is also linked to several major religious events, including Easter. However, it doesn't mean that the moon is going to be surrounded by pink colour.

Illumination and more

April's full moon is named after the herb moss pink, also called creeping phlox or moss phlox. This was named after a plant in the US. The pink moon is said to illuminate the sky this entire April season and will reach its peak on April 17 at 12.15 am.

The full Moon has different names such as the Pink Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon, Fish Moon, the Pesach or Passover Moon, Paschal Moon, Hanuman Jayanti, Bak Poya and a "supermoon."

For Hindus, this coincides with Hanuman Jayanti, the celebration of the birth of Lord Hanuman. The day is celebrated in most areas on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Chaitra.

In the Christian ecclesiastical calendar, this is the Paschal Moon, the full Moon from which the date of Easter is calculated. For Buddhists, this full moon is Bak Poya, commemorating when the Buddha visited Sri Lanka.

According to NASA, the pink moon will be full from Friday morning to Monday morning.