April Supermoon 2020: The April Pink Supermoon which was visible to most of the world on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday was not actually pink, a report in The Guardian has stated. While the moon was bigger and brighter than usual, the difference was very subtle, the report quoted Michael Brown, an astronomer with Australia’s Monash University, as saying. He said that the Moon was not that super, but that does not mean a person should not have taken a look, the report said.

Explaining the difference between a normal Full Moon and a Supermoon, Brown told The Guardian that the Supermoon is just a Full Moon closer to the Earth than the usual one. It is around 10% closer in area and 20% bigger in brightness, he said, which means the difference is not immediately visible to the naked human eye.

He explained that Supermoon happens when the Moon is at its closest point to the Earth in its 27-day revolution and a Full Moon occurs. This phenomenon, he reportedly said, happens once every year. He also said that while the Moon is slightly bigger during a Supermoon since it is 40,000 km closer to the Earth than usual, the images of large and enormous Moon are merely optical illusions.

He said that some of the photographs clicked during a Supermoon are just tricks of the zoom lens, especially when it is pictured with objects like trees or planes, making it look massive.

Talking about the Moon being ‘pink’, the report stated that Brown said the name ‘Pink Moon’ is simply a name given to the April Full Moon and the Moon would look its usual silver or yellow-tinged. He further said that when humans do see unique colours, it is because we are looking at it from dusty or smoky sky, or if a lunar eclipse occurs.

Several viewers took to Twitter to post their pictures of the Supermoon from Tuesday night.

NASA’s Ames Centre posted a meme on the Supermoon on its Twitter account.

Astrophysicist and author of Mars 3D Antonio Paris also took to Twitter to post a picture of last night’s moon.

Producer and director Julie Cohen also posted a picture of the phenomenon.

Many others also posted their own captured images.