The Supermoon that lit up the Monday night sky into Tuesday morning lingers another night into Wednesday morning. Named as such in 1979 by an astrologer, orbs of its ilk occur when the moon is within 90% of its perigree, when its orbit is closest to the Earth, whether it is full or new, which can’t be seen, according to NASA’s website.
In the 1930s, the Maine Farmers Almanac began applying American Indian names to each month’s moon. April’s is the Pink Moon after the herb moss pink. Coastal American Indians called it the Fish Moon to mark when shad swim upstream to reproduce.
This year, 2021, two full Supermoons are on the calendar, so if April’s is missed, another will pass even closer to the Earth, about 98 miles closer, according to NASA, on May 26.
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