Is the moon really going to be pink tonight?

The Saturday, April 12, 2025 full moon is named the Pink Moon, but don’t expect to see a hue of pink if you go out to look at it. The color is a -name only- reference to April’s full moon.

The name comes from early Native Americans to represent the color of the wild ground phlox, one of the earliest flowers to bloom in April, which is often pink.

The moon will be at it’s official full moon status at 7:22 PM for just a brief second before starting to wane from full illumination, but we don’t see the subtle change, so it looks full for the entire night.

Tonight’s full moon will be a micro moon, which is the opposite of a supermoon. The moon doesn’t follow a circular orbit around earth, which would keep its place at a uniform distance. It travels in an elliptical path, which sometimes places it closer or farther away from earth, depending on where it is in the orbit. When a full moon appears at its closest distance to earth, we call it a supermoon, and when the moon is full at its furthest distance, its called a micromoon.

This full moon also impacts why Easter is when it is. April’s full moon is known as the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first full moon after the March spring equinox. Traditionally, western Christian churches celebrate Easter on the Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon. Therefore, Easter will be observed on April 20 this year.