Tomorrow night, Wednesday April 8, a “super pink moon” will rise. The annual phenomenon occurs when the moon is directly opposite the sun and also at the closest point to earth in its orbit.

What is a super pink moon?

Despite the phenomenon’s name, the moon won’t actually appear pink; it’s named after the blossoming of fuchsia phlox flowers in the US, which occurs at the beginning of the northern hemisphere’s spring – the same time as this annual event. Confusingly, the moon is likely to look light yellow and with orange hues. The official name of the spectacle is perigee-syzygy: perigee being the point at which the moon is closest to earth, and syzygy when the earth, moon and sun are all aligned.

The moon usually orbits around the earth at a distance of around 384,400 kilometres. But during the super pink moon, it will be only 356,907 kilometres away. Due to its close proximity to earth, the super full moon will appear around 14 per cent brighter than a regular full moon.