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Brightest full moon of 2020 takes to the sky early this week

The “pink” moon won’t actually appear pink, but will appear brighter than most full moons

Supermoon rises Tuesday evening

ROANOKE, Va. – You’re probably looking for things to do to entertain and/or educate the kids while they’re not currently in school. What better way than to do something as simple as looking up at the night sky?

You can start Monday night by looking at the International Space Station.

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Look up to the northwest Monday night

Tuesday night, the moon will be completely full (but may appear full to the naked eye Monday and Wednesday nights too). The moon turns full 8 hours after it reaches its closest point to Earth in its orbit, which is better known as perigee.

Because this is the closest point out of the year, April’s “pink” moon will also be the brightest of 2020. However, the moon will not take on a pink hue. The name comes from the pink phlox flowers that bloom this time of year.

Any yellowish tint you may see would be closer to moonrise or moonset, when the moon is low on the horizon. This comes from the fact that there’s more atmosphere to scatter the moon’s light.

Fortunately, the moon rises between 5:40 p.m. and 8 p.m. the next three nights and doesn’t set until the following morning.

If you get a good picture, the best way to submit your photos is on our weather app by using the feature, ‘Pin It.’

You can find a full tutorial on how to use Pin It here.