Pink supermoon to be visible from Ireland this week

Set your alarms as the supermoon will appear at its largest at 3:35 am on Wednesday morning.

Irish stargazers are encouraged to keep their eyes on the sky, as a rare pink supermoon is expected later this week. In April, the full moon is called the pink moon after the pink flowers that bloom during this time of year. Unfortunately, the pink moon is only pink by name and not nature. Throughout the year, various names are given to the full moon to reflect seasonal changes. For instance, in June it's known as the strawberry moon and in September, the Harvest moon rises. Fittingly, a full moon in December is known as a cold moon. The supermoon, while beautiful, will not be any different in colour. Full moons appear particularly large when they are at the closest point to Earth during their orbit. Those keen to get a glimpse of the event should keep their eyes peeled just before sunset tomorrow, 27 April. The pink supermoon will then remain visible until Wednesday morning. It will appear at its largest at 3:35 am on Wednesday. Anna Ross, an astronomer with the Royal Observatory in Greenwich gave an explanation of the phenomenon to the PA News Agency. "A supermoon is the result of a full moon occurring when the moon is near its closest point to the Earth in its orbit. "This can happen because the moon orbits the Earth on an elliptical path, rather than a circular one. "As this means that the moon is a little closer to us, it appears slightly bigger in the sky." We are certainly hopeful that the evening will be clear enough to see the pink supermoon, but if it's too cloudy, fear not. Another supermoon - the May Flower moon - will be visible at the end of next month.