SC skies will shine with a pink moon, meteor shower & more soon. Here’s when

The night sky in April will be full of amazing sights, including a pink moon, a meteor shower, Venus and Jupiter visible with the naked eye.

The moon will be full on April 2, and is called a pink moon.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac says the moon won’t actually be pink, but draws its name from something ‘a bit less magical.’

“The name comes from the early spring bloom of a wildflower native to eastern North America: Phlox subulata, commonly known as creeping phlox or moss phlox,” the almanac said. “This flower, often called “moss pink,” was in full bloom around April’s Full Moon.”

The full moon will “look exceptionally bright and large when it rises above the eastern horizon, just as the sun sets,” National Geographic said.

There will be 13 full moons in 2026, which includes two in May.

Also in April, Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets, will be in the evening sky all month and Mars will be low in the pre-dawn east.

In early April, the usually hard to see Mercury will be visible above the eastern horizon before dawn and in late month yellowish Saturn is low to the pre-dawn eastern horizon, The Planetary Society said.

The Lyrid meteor shower “does its medium-strength thing,” the Planetary Society said. It peaks April 21-22 when the crescent moon sets early and won’t block out the shower.

NASA says the Lyrid meteor shower is “one of the oldest known meteor showers,” with sightings being recorded as early as 687 BC.

“Fast and bright meteors.” the Lyrids have occasional fireballs, NASA says.

“Lyrids are known for uncommon surges that can sometimes bring rates of up to 100 (shooting stars) per hour,” EarthSky said.

Here are other sky events for April listed by the Planetery Society.

April 18 — Saturn, Mars, Mercury, and Neptune rise low near each other in the pre-dawn east. You’ll need a telescope to see Neptune, but the others will be visible around an hour before sunrise.

April 22 — The moon will be near a very bright Jupiter.

April 23 — In the early evening west, super bright Venus will be near super dim, bluish Uranus, as well as the faint stars of the Pleiades star cluster. “Time to get out your binoculars and have some fun.”