April’s full ‘Pink Moon’ rises tonight — just as NASA readies its Artemis 2 moon mission

Get ready stargazers! The April full moon rises tonight, bringing a spectacular natural light show to the early spring sky as NASA’s Artemis 2 rocket sits on the pad ready to launch four astronauts on a 10-day mission to the far side of the natural satellite.

This month’s full moon phase will occur at 10:12 p.m. EDT on April 1 (0211 GMT on April 2), as the lunar disk glows opposite the sun in Earth‘s sky, fully lit by the light of our parent star, mere hours after the launch window opens for the Artemis 2 launch. Moonrise and moonset times vary depending on your viewing location. April’s full moon is also known as the “Pink Moon”, in reference to the ground-covering phlox that blooms around this time in parts of North America.

During a full moon, the Earth-facing lunar disk is entirely bereft of shadows, making it a perfect time to grab your telescope and explore some of the lesser-known lunar seas that scar its surface, where lava flooded colossal impact basins billions of years ago.

A telescope with an aperture of 4-6 inches will help reveal the long dark smear of Mare Frigoris (the Sea of Cold) snaking across the northern extreme of the lunar disk. The small mare at the very centre of the moon is known, fittingly, as Sinus Medii, the Bay of the Center, while the 150-mile-wide (242-kilometer) expanse of Mare Vaporum (the Sea of Vapors) is visible 15 degrees directly above it, with the large Manilius Crater on its eastern border.

Next, sweep your scope southwest to find Mare Nubium (the Sea of Clouds), with Mare Humorum (the Sea of Humours) to its left, relative to the moon’s north pole.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will be treated to an up-close and personal view of the moon over the course of their 10-day Artemis 2 mission.

You can stay up to date with the latest Artemis 2 action with our Artemis 2 live blog.

During their brief stay in Earth orbit — and during Orion’s days-long transfer to lunar space — the crew will witness the waning gibbous phase, as the line separating night from day sweeps right-to-left across the moon’s surface. Their distant trajectory will then see them join the ranks of the 24 Apollo-era astronauts who remain the only humans to ever see the far side of the moon, though only a small part of the far side will be lit at the time of their passage.

Want to get a closer look at Earth’s moon? Then be sure to check out our guide to viewing the lunar surface, along with our picks of the best telescopes and binoculars for exploring the night sky.

Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your photos of the Pink Moon with Space.com’s readers, then please send your image(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.