The first full moon of the year is coming and it is set to be a beautiful one.
With the arrival of spring, also comes the arrival of a beacon of new fresh starts – the Pink Full Moon.
Sky gazers will be anticipating the arrival of a new full moon, the first of 2026, but if you are hoping to catch a glimpse of it in the coming weeks, we have you covered.
Here is everything we know about the upcoming spectacle in the skies.
The Pink Moon is the name for the full moon in April. The moon is not likely to be a super bright colour moon, with the name a symbol of the month, rather than a description.
Its name stems back to a time when people called them after seasonal moments in nature, to keep track of passing months. In this case it refers to a pink flower in North America which blooms at this time of year.
The full Moon in April has an important additional role as it is key in setting the dates for Easter and Passover.
Pink Full Moon over Westminster
Jeremy Selwyn
Other names for this full Pink Moon around the world include the Sprouting Grass Moon and Egg Moon which both describe the start of spring.
The full Fish Moon refers to when shad fish came upstream to spawn and Breaking Ice Moon highlights the arrival of warmer weather.
Full Moons have these names that hark back to ancient traditions before modern calendars were used and people used to watch the skies to work out the time of year.
They were helpful ways to mark the changing seasons and the names tend to relate to significant events, for example the Hunter, the Harvest and the Flower Moons.
When is the April Pink Moon and how can I see it?
April’s full Pink Moon will begin to show on the evening of Wednesday, April 1, and will reach its peak in the UK at 03:12am on Thursday April 2.
The weather is not looking ideal for this year’s event right now.
The Met Office say the night will be very cold, and will also bring with it cloud and rain, especially in the south of the UK.
The best chances of clear spells will be in the colder air for Scotland and Northern Ireland.