Moon Phases

April full moon is the Pink Moon and a micromoon

Posted by

and

April 12, 2025

The April full moon is a micromoon, and the smallest full moon of 2025. Why is it so small? Join EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd and Marcy Curran for charts and details.

Looking up has never felt more important.
Help EarthSky keep bringing the sky to your screen.

April full moon

When to watch in 2025: On the night of April 12 into the morning of April 13.
Where to look: Look for the bright round moon in the east in the evening, overhead around midnight, then in the west before sunrise.
Crest of the full moon falls at 00:22 UTC on April 13, 2025. That’s 7:22 p.m. CDT on April 12 in central North America. This means that at moonrise, it is at or very near its fullest.
Note: As it rises, the April 12 full moon is close to the star Spica in the constellation Virgo the Maiden.

Sky chart: the full moon, very close to the star Spica, both along the steep ecliptic line. — About 2 hours after sunset on April 12, 2025, the full moon – nicknamed the Pink Moon – will glow brightly in the east below Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. It’s also the most distant – or micromoon – of the year. Chart via EarthSky.

This April’s full moon is a micromoon

Some moons are supermoons. That is, they’re both full and in a close part of their orbit to Earth.

But the April 2025 full moon is a micromoon. It’s at a far part of its orbit around Earth. A careful comparison with photos of other full moons would show that this full moon appears smaller-than-average in our sky.

The April 2025 micromoon is the second of three micromoons in 2025. And it’s the farthest full moon of 2025, at 252,280 miles (406,006 km). It is slightly more distant that the May full moon which will lie at 251,828 miles (405,278 km).

While a micromoon can appear up to 14% smaller than a supermoon – thus appearing less bright than a supermoon – both this April’s and May’s full moons will still shine very brightly. So brightly, that the light of April’s full micromoon will obscure the bright star Spica lying just two-moon widths from it.

Full moon is opposite the sun

All full moons rise in the east near the time of sunset and set in the west near the time of sunrise. They are visible all night. At full moon, the sun, Earth, and moon – in that order – align in space. The moon’s day side – its fully lighted hemisphere – faces us. That’s why the moon looks full. Also, the moon will look full and round for a day or two near full moon. And for folks living in mid-northern latitudes, the April moon rises on average of 60 minutes later each day. That means that the night after the full moon, you won’t see the moon rise until the sky is fully dark.

Diagram: Sun, Earth, and moon in a row, with Earth's and moon's orbits shown. — At full moon, the sun, Earth, and moon are aligned in space, with Earth in the middle. The moon’s day side – its fully lighted hemisphere – directly faces us. Chart via EarthSky.

April’s full moon is the Pink Moon

This is a beautiful time of year, especially when the full moon rises! April’s full moon has the nickname of the Pink Moon, because of all the blooming flowers and trees, such as the pink creeping phlox.

The moment of full moon – when the moon reaches that point in its orbit directly opposite the sun in the sky – is April 13 at 00:22 UTC (7:22 p.m. CDT on April 12). However, a full moon is considered any time 12 hours before or after that.

Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere views

For Northern Hemisphere viewers, the rising Pink Moon will glow brightly near Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. In the hour just after midnight, the moon – and Spica – will arc above the southern horizon. Then the moon and Spica will set in the west on the morning of April 13.

Sky chart with full moon and Spica along a low dotted arc, at 3 times during the night. — For viewers in the Northern Hemisphere, the April 2025 full moon will rise close to the bright star Spica. They’ll be highest in the sky around midnight, and will lie near the western horizon before sunrise. Spica moves slightly westward relative to the moon throughout the night. Chart via EarthSky.

For Southern Hemisphere viewers, the scene is different. The full moon and Spica will rise opposite the sun near the time of sunset. In the hour just after midnight, they arc above the northern horizon. Then they will set opposite the sunrise on the morning of April 13.

Sky chart with full moon and Spica along a high dotted arc, at 3 times during the night. — From the Southern Hemisphere, the full moon and Spica will rise on the night of April 12, 2025. They’ll be highest in the sky near midnight, and will hang in the west before sunrise. Spica moves slightly westward relative to the moon throughout the night. Chart via EarthSky.

April full moon shines in Virgo

The April full moon can lie in front of one of two constellations of the zodiac. In most years, as it will this year, it lands in Virgo the Maiden. But if the full moon occurs in the final few days of the month, it can fall in the neighboring constellation, Libra the Scales. This doesn’t happen often, and won’t happen again until 2037.

Diagram: Earth and moon lined up, with an arrow to moon's apparent position in front of Virgo near Spica. — The April 2025 full moon will occur on the overnight of April 12 and will lie in the eastern half of the constellation Virgo. It’ll shine near the bright star Spica. Chart via EarthSky.

Spotting Spica

With the full moon being very bright, can you see Spica? If not, try blocking the moon behind a foreground object such as a building or a utility pole. Spica is an important star for learning the night sky because it is the southern member of the easily recognizable Spring Triangle. This asterism also includes Arcturus positioned north of Spica, and Regulus, lying northwest of Spica. Those three stars form an attractive triangle. Sometimes the Spring Triangle is composed of Arcturus, Spica, and Denebola. They create an equilateral triangle.

As the night of April 12 advances, the Pink Moon moves noticeably away from Spica. Since the full moon sits on the opposite side of the sky as the sun, when morning twilight begins in the east, the full moon nears the western horizon. It then lies even farther from Spica than it did when it rose nearly twelve hours earlier.

Bottom line: At full moon, the moon rises in the east around sunset, climbs highest in the sky around midnight, and sets around sunrise. The April 2025 full moon on the overnight of April 12 is the Pink Moon. It is the smallest full moon of the year, and lies near the star Spica in the constellation Virgo.

Posted

April 12, 2025

in

Moon Phases

John Jardine Goss

View Articles

About the Author:

“I can sometimes see the moon in the daytime” was a cosmic revelation that John Jardine Goss first discovered through personal observations at age 6. It shook his young concept of the universe and launched his interest in astronomy and stargazing, a fascination he still holds today. John is past president of the Astronomical League, the largest U.S. federation of astronomical societies, with over 24,000 members. He's earned the title of Master Observer and is a regular contributor to the video series, “Global Star Party.” He has authored the celestial observing guides “Exploring the Starry Realm,” and “Carpe Lunam,” and “Take Your First Steps, an Introduction to Amateur Astronomy.” John also wrote for twenty years the monthly stargazing column, Roanoke Skies, for the Roanoke Times, and currently writes a bimonthly column, Skywatch, for Blue Ridge Country magazine. He has contributed to Sky and Telescope magazine, the IDA Nightscape, the Astronomical League’s Reflector magazine, and the RASC Observer’s Handbook.