You may have heard news that the Pink Moon is rising tonight, Sunday 13 April, but if you’re looking at tonight’s Moon you’ll find an added stargazing bonus: bright star Spica is close by.
Spica is one of the brightest stars in the springtime sky and will be close to tonight’s full Moon, which is the 2025 Pink Moon.
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Pink Moon explained
Tonight the Pink Moon rises above the southeastern horizon at around 21:00 BST. This is the fourth full Moon of 2025, and is known as the ‘Pink Moon’.
The nickname is a bit of a misnomer at first glance, because the Moon won’t appear any more pink than any other full Moon.
Every monthly full Moon has acquired multiple nicknames over the years that reference what’s happening in nature during the month in question.
The Pink Moon is so-called because it’s the April full Moon, and ‘pink’ is a reference to the colourful blooming of flowers that occurs at the start of spring.
Tonight’s full Moon won’t look pink, but if you get a clear horizon and are able to see it low down, you might notice the Moon looks orange.
This is to do with how Earth’s thick atmosphere scatters light, making a Moon close to the horizon appear redder than usual.
The Moon low to the horizon might also appear larger than usual. This is a well-known optical effect known as the Moon illusion.
Micromoon
Tonight’s full Moon is also being called a Pink Micro Moon by some!
That’s technically true: the full Moon on 13 April 2025 will seem smaller than usual. It’s to do with the Moon’s orbit and how it appears from Earth.
The Moon travels around Earth in an elliptical – or egg-shaped – orbit, which means it’s closer to our planet at some points than at other times.
As a result, sometimes the Moon appears larger and sometimes it appears smaller.
The Pink Moon for 2025 coincides with ‘apogee’, when the Moon is furthest from Earth in its orbit.
An apogee Moon appears about 14.1% smaller and 30% dimmer than the Moon at ‘perigee’ – when it’s closest to Earth.
However, the difference is really imperceptible with the naked eye, so ignore anyone telling you tonight’s Moon will look tiny!
Spica
So what about the bright star next to the Moon tonight?
That bright point above and to the right of the Pink Moon is star Spica, which is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo.
Spica is also the 15th brightest star in the sky, and is actually not one star, but two.
It’s what is known as a binary star: a pair of stars that orbit each other.
From Earth, binary stars appear as a single point of light because they’re so far away, so you won’t be able to see Spica as two separate stars with the naked eye.
Some binary stars can be ‘resolved’ through binoculars or a telescope.
This simply means that, with a bit more magnification, you can see the two individual stars of a binary system.
Spica is not easily resolvable, and so even with a telescope you’ll struggle to make out two stars, rather than a single point of light.
But, when you look up at the Pink Moon tonight and see a bright star above and to the right of it, you’re not actually seeing one star, but two.
If you observe or photograph Spica near tonight’s Pink Moon, get in touch by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com