SPOKANE, Wash. — The Pink Supermoon will rise over Spokane at 7:11 p.m. on Tuesday and it'll be a sight to see on the western horizon.
The "Supermoon" is when the moon is both at its closest point to earth in its orbit while also being a full moon at the same time. This makes the moon appear about 14% larger and 30% brighter. The size isn't particularly noticeable, but the brightness is.
But the moment the moon hits the apex in its orbit at 7:35 p.m. is just after moonrise, meaning it'll be hovering just above the eastern horizon. And anyone who's seen the moon at this moments always notes that it looks massive, Supermoon or not.
This phenomenon is known as the Moon Terminator Illusion. Somehow, our eyes and minds are tricked into comparing the moon's size to the small objects on the horizon, making it look huge. But if you take a picture, the illusion is broken, and the moon goes back to looking its normal (relatively small) size.
OK, what about the "Pink" moon? A disclaimer: the moon will not look pink. This is because the "pink moon" is just a nickname for the full moon in April.
There's a nickname for each moon. But like how "blue moons" do not look blue, the pink moon will not look pink.
But don't worry if you miss that exact 7:35 p.m. moment. A supermoon is an all night thing. In short, it's just a normal full moon but it will look just a little bigger and brighter in the sky on Tuesday night.