April’s full moon is a micromoon. Here’s what it means.

Moon lovers with keen eyes may notice that April’s full moon appears smaller than usual this month, and despite its namesake “pink moon,” the orb will have a golden-white hue.

The micromoon will be visible in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and is scheduled to rise Saturday night, reaching its peak at 8:22 p.m. Miami time.

Skywatchers observe a micromoon when the celestial object is at or near its farthest point from Earth, also known as apogee, along its orbital path, according to NASA planetary scientist Dr. Noah Petro.

“The moon’s orbit around Earth isn’t perfect; it’s elliptical, or egg-shaped. So there are times throughout the year when it’s closer to Earth and times when it’s farther from it,” said Petro, who leads the science team for NASA’s Artemis III mission, which aims to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972.

Micromoon vs. Supermoon
At its peak, April’s full moon will be approximately 30,000 miles (49,000 kilometers) farther from Earth than the largest supermoon of the year, which will rise in November, according to NASA.

A supermoon can be observed when the full moon occurs near or during perigee, the closest point in its orbit around Earth.

Petro said a micromoon can appear up to 14% smaller and approximately 30% dimmer than a supermoon, which is subtle enough to be unnoticeable to the casual observer. However, the difference can be observed through photographs.

“What makes observing the Moon so enjoyable is that it’s different every month,” Petro said. “We can test ourselves to see if we can actually observe these differences.”

This micromoon will appear about 6% smaller than the average full moon, according to astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project, which planned to broadcast the lunar event as the moon rose over south-central Italy.