Pink Moon 2019: What are all the Full Moon names this year? Where do the names come from?

The Pink Moon will reach full brightness around 12.12pm BST (11.12pm BST) here in the UK – a whole eight hours before moonrise in the evening. As a result, the fully lit Moon will not be visible until after 8.05pm BST (7.05pm UTC) but the wait should be worth it. The Pink Moon or the Paschal Moon is the annual Full Moon observed in the month of April. Dubbed after a pink breed of North American flower known as ground phlox, the lunar orb will be 100 percent illuminated tomorrow night.

The Moon is also important in western Christianity because its appearance kickstarts the Easter weekend.

Easter is traditionally held on the first Sunday following the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox.

This year Easter might feel late because the real first Full Moon of Spring fell just for hours after the equinox on March 20.

Because of this, Easter was pushed back until the Pink Moon’s arrival and falls on Sunday, April 21.

But what about all the other Full Moons this year? Do they also have different names?

READ MORE: What time does the Pink Moon rise?

What are all the Full Moon names in 2019?

There are between 12 and 13 Full Moon throughout the year because the Moon orbits the Earth roughly every 27.3 days.

The lunar cycle from a New Moon to New Moon, however, takes about 29.5 days to complete.

During this cycle, the Earth-facing side of the Moon is lit up to varying degrees depending on its position in relation to the Sun.

When the Moon is fully lit we witness a Full Moon phase.

Each of these phases has a unique name of its own, commonly adopted by colonial Europeans from Native American traditions.

READ MORE: How to watch the April Pink Moon rise on Friday?

These names were used to keep track of the changing seasons and reflect how the landscapes shifted in response.

The Pink Moon, for instance, is named after ground phlox, which spectacularly springs around this time of the year.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich in London explained: “Over time, different cultures have given names to full moons across the lunar calendar.

“Many of the Moon’s nicknames have come to us from Native American culture because for their way of life, the cycles of the lunar phases were just as important a method of timekeeping as the longer solar cycle of the year, as defined by the motion of the Sun.

“The number of Moon names differs slightly tribe to tribe, but many assign either 12 or 13 Full Moons to the year.”

READ MORE: What is the spiritual meaning of April’s Full Moon?

Here is a full list of the upcoming and past Full Moons, including their name and date:

  • January 10 – Full Wolf Moon
  • February 9 – Full Snow Moon
  • March 21 – Full Worm Moon
  • April 19 – Full Pink Moon
  • May 18 – Full Flower Moon
  • June 17 – Full Strawberry Moon
  • July 16 – Full Buck Moon
  • August 15 – Full Sturgeon Moon
  • September 14 – Full Harvest Moon
  • October 13 – Full Hunter’s Moon
  • November 12 – Full Beaver Moon
  • December 12 – Full Cold Moon

source: express.co.uk