We are in for back-to-back supermoons over the next two months, with a Pink Moon and a Flower Moon set to shine bright in the sky.
After last month’s Worm Moon was largely obscured by cloud, there are hopes Bristol will have better luck for the next two full moons.
The April and May full moons will both appear to loom large as the moon is at its closest points to Earth on its orbit.
The Pink Moon supermoon will be at its peak on Tuesday, April 27 at 4.31am - and the Met Office is predicting a clear night.
The Flower Moon supermoon will be at its largest and brightest on Wednesday, May 26 at 12.13pm.
According to the Royal Museums Greenwich, Northern Native Americans call the the April full moon the Pink Moon after a species of early blooming wildflowers. In other cultures, this moon is called the fish moon, the egg moon and the sprouting grass moon.
Whereas the Flower Moon of May gets its name from the blooming flowers of spring, other names include the milk moon, the hare moon and the corn planting moon.
The reason we see a supermoon is not because the moon physically grows in size. The moon’s orbit around the earth is not a perfect circle, but an ellipse.
This means at some points it is at its closest to earth (a lunar perigee) and at other times, it is at its further away (a lunar apogee).
If a full moon coincides with a lunar perigee, you get a supermoon.
What is a Supermoon?
The distance between the Moon and the Earth varies, because the Earth is not right at the centre of the Moon’s orbit and the Moon’s orbit is not a circle (it’s an ellipse).
The moment when the Moon is closest to the Earth is called a lunar perigee and if this coincides with a full moon, you get a supermoon
When the Moon is furthest away it is known as a lunar apogee. A full moon at this point is called a micromoon.
Moon events in 2021
- April 27 (4.31am) Pink Moon (supermoon)
- May 26 (12.13pm) Flower Moon (supermoon)
- June 24 (7.39pm) Strawberry Moon
- July 24 (3.36am) Buck Moon
- August 22 (1.01pm) Sturgeon Moon
- September 22 (12.54am) Full Corn/Harvest Moon
- October 20 (3.56pm) Hunter's Moon
- November 19 (8.57am) Beaver Moon
- December 19 (4.35am) Cold Moon
The Met Office in its forecast for Bristol is saying there will be clear night through the early hours of Tuesday, April 27.
Temperatures will be around 5C to 7C from midnight to 10am and sunrise will be at 5.51am.
We'll update this story with the latest weather as we get nearer to the full moon.
