Aurora chasers and night sky enthusiasts get ready – the stars could align for you to have quite the cosmic show this weekend!
We already told you that this month’s Full Pink ‘micromoon’ is scheduled to rise on Saturday (April 12), getting to its fullest point at 8:22 p.m. EDT (0022 GMT April 13). If you’re not familiar, unlike the powerful and larger-than-life supermoon that we will get to experience later this year, a micromoon is actually the opposite. This is when the moon will be located the farthest away from Earth (a point referred to as apogee), and as a result, it’s the tiniest and dimmest full moon of 2025 (nicknamed pink not because of the hue, but because it’s more faint than the others!)
The April full moon will coincide wth a potential geomagnetic storm (G1) that could take place overnight April 11 into April 12, according to an update by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. This is the result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) whirling toward Earth that’s expected to reach our magnetic field heading into the weekend. Higher latitudes located in the northern part of the United States that could view the northern lights include northern Michigan and Maine.
Could there be more chances to view the aurora in the immediate? According to SWPC’s latest forecast on Friday sunspot region AR4055 should be monitored for the possibility of solar flares through the weekend that could produce additional CMEs.