The farthest, smallest and faintest full moon of the year rises this weekend — and you can watch it live online.
April’s full moon — also called the Pink Moon, or Paschal Moon — rises Saturday (April 12) and peaks at 8:22 p.m. EDT (0022 GMT April 13). While it won’t appear pink, this month’s full moon will look slightly smaller and dimmer in the night sky because the moon will be farthest from Earth, also known as apogee. That’s why it’s said to be a “micromoon.”
The Virtual Telescope Project will provide a view of the micromoon using its robotic telescopes in Manciano, Italy. The project’s free online livestream will begin at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday (0000 GMT on April 13), as the moon reaches its full phase. You can watch the livestream here on Space.com courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project or directly on their WebTV page or YouTube channel.
This weekend, the moon will reach a maximum distance of about 252,277 miles (406,000 kilometers) from our planet, according to a statement from the Virtual Telescope Project.
“As a consequence, our satellite will appear in the sky about 6% smaller than an average full moon,” Gianluca Masi, Virtual Telescope Project founder and astronomer, told Space.com. “In addition, this will be the farthest and faintest full moon of the year.”
However, this subtle size difference will be tricky to spot with the naked eye. Located under the clear, dark skies of Italy’s Maremma’s countryside, the Virtual Telescope Project will share real-time images of the faint full moon for viewers to enjoy from the comfort of their homes.