More and more frequently We hear about whether there is a pink moon, a red moon, a black moon or a blue moon. Tonight, without going any further, we will be able to enjoy the full moon in April, which in the media we refer to as pink moon.

It is true that the Moon shows small color variations and it can present a slightly different hue at some times of the year, sometimes somewhat pink or reddish, sometimes bluish, but also, and above all, yellowish or coppery, and it can even darken very shyly at some moments of the lunar cycle.

However, one thing is the colors of the moonthose colors that from Earth we appreciate on its surface, and others the names of colors by which we know the Moon filled at different times. They don’t always coincide, or almost never.

What color is the Moon?

If we went to the Moon we would surely see that its color is grayish, andl color of a dusty rock composed of minerals such as magnesium, iron, titanium or feldspar.

From Earth we also see that grayish color thanks to the reflected light of the Sun, which has to travel thousands of kilometers so that we can see the Moon.

That grayish color seen from Earth, sometimes almost white due to the intensity of the sunlight that is reflected, can present small variations, and these are produced by several factors.

On the one hand, we can appreciate darker or lighter areas depending on its structure and also more yellowish or more blueish according to its mineral composition. Thus, there are areas that look a little more yellow due to the high concentration of iron in the rock, while others look more bluish due to the greater presence of titanium.

This is often difficult to see with the naked eyebut in the photographs taken to study it, these variations can be enhanced and made more evident.

The other colors of the moon that we see

However, the hue of the Moon can also vary depending on what the reflected light from the Sun, on its journey towards Earth, is in the Earth’s atmosphere. The millions of particles suspended in the air They will cause part of that light to be dispersed and some wavelengths or others will reach us more.

The lower the Moon is on the horizon, the more atmosphere the light will have to pass through to reach our retina, so the more the color could change. That’s why sometimes we see it a little more orange when it is close to the horizon line, or something more pink at sunsetwhen the sky, for the same reason, also turns pink.

This We see it more when it is a full moon, because it is the moment of the lunar cycle when we see it appear on the horizon at sunset and because its entire surface is illuminated.

The colors of the Moon that cannot be seen

There are other phenomena that can influence these variations in hue of the lunar surface, but Those variations have nothing to do with the other colors: the colors of the names of the Moonwhich are the ones we don’t see. And why is a Moon suddenly called a Pink Moon, Red Moon, Blue Moon or Black Moon?

all culturesover the centuries, have lived in greater connection with nature and the cosmos than we usually do now. The Moon served to orient ourselves temporally, to guide human activity, and that importance is reflected in language. Many cultures ended up giving a different name for each Moon of the monthrelated to what happens in nature at that time of year, or to the most representative human activities of each season.

The most popular names are those collected in the tradition of the native North American peoples in The Old Farmer’s Almanacbut also the Celts gave names to the different moons, and the Australian aborigines or the Chinese.

In other cases, colors have been used for other types of associations to describe astronomical phenomena in a popular waynon-technical, that has caught on in the media and that has contributed to making phenomena closer that, otherwise, perhaps we would not notice today.

So let’s put some order and see what everything is. What is a blue or red Moon really? Can the Moon be seen red or blue? Or what is a pink Moon? Does it have anything to do with the Moon looking pink? And the mysterious black moon? Does it have something to do with the new moon or, if we announce that the black moon is coming, will it be something else?

Let’s start with the rose, since we have it on top of us.

Pink moon: what it is and when it occurs

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Sometimes the Moon can look pinkdue to the effect of the scattering of sunlight as it passes through the atmospherebut that has nothing to do with what is popularly known as the Pink Moon, or at least when this term is used to refer to the full Moon in the month of April.

He Pink Moon name for April Full Moon It comes from Native American tradition. At this time the flower of a moss, the phlox moss (Phlox subulata), forms pink blankets on the ground. That flowering, which identifies a time of year, could have inspired them to name the April Moon that way. Not all Native Americans called it that; others looked at other phenomena of nature around at this time when giving a name to this month’s Moon, such as the Moon in which the ducks return, the Icebreaker Moon or, again resorting to color, the Red Grass Moon.

Curiously, in China the April Moon is known as peony moona flower that is also pink.

Nor in June, when we call the Moon strawberry moonwe have to see the Moon in pink, although the theory says that this name could be due to the color of sunsets at the beginning of summer and that evocative name suggests it.

When will there be a pink moon?

The last Pink Moon occurred on April 13, 2025 and the next one will arrive on April 2, 2026.

Blue moon: what it is and how often it occurs

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«Blue moon» is one of those terms that have become popular to describe an event that It is more related to how we have organized the calendar than with the astronomical phenomena that amaze us so much by changing the appearance of the sky. Of course, The «blue moon» thing draws a lot of attentionbecause since it is not in a specific month, when it arrives, it seems that it will surprise us and it will be something very spectacular. And curious it is, but spectacular, depending on the eyes with which you look at it.

The expression «Blue Moon» is normally used to refer to the second full moon that occurs within the same month. As each lunar cycle lasts around 29.5 days, when a full Moon falls very early in the month, it can give time for a second one to occur. This happens approximately every two and a half years. The color of the full Moon when this happens has absolutely nothing to do with it.

You can also use the term «Blue Moon» to refer to the third full moon of a season in which four full moons occur. In that case we usually talk about «Seasonal Blue Moon».

He origin of the name It is not clear, but it is believed that it could come from meaning of blue in medieval English (then belewe), which meant «betray.» The blue moon would be that treacherous Moon that you don’t expect. But it is not the only theory and there are those who suggest that it could come from the expression, also Anglo-Saxon, Once every blue moon (something like «from grapes to pears»).

When will there be a blue moon?

The last blue Moon occurred in August 2023, so we will have to wait for the next ones. The first will arrive in May 2026, and then we will have two in a row in 2029, in January and March.

Red Moon or Blood Moon, the most anticipated

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The red Moon is the only one in which the name describes something that we can appreciate when looking at the Moon, although exaggerating it. There is talk of a red moon, or even a blood moon, to refer to what the full moon looks like. during a total lunar eclipse.

Does the Moon turn red? Not exactly, although yes acquires a reddish hue more or less pronounced depending on atmospheric conditions. This happens because when the Earth blocks the sunlight that falls on the Moon with its shadow, the Moon does not completely disappear from our sight but rather begins to reflect light escaping from the Earth’s atmosphere. This residual light is made up mainly of long-wave lights, red or orange in color.

We only see that «Red Moon» during a total lunar eclipse, and total lunar eclipses always take place on a full Moon, hence how magical it can seem when the full Moon suddenly turns a different color.

When will the next Red Moon or Blood Moon occur?

The last red moon occurred with the total lunar eclipse of the September 7, 2025and we won’t have to wait long for another total lunar eclipse to occur that could let us enjoy that redder moon: it will be the night of March 2-3, 2026.

Black moon, the most mysterious

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It is perhaps the least known, but given the growing interest in the Moon I’m sure we’ll hear more about her soon.. Nor does it refer to any extraordinary astronomical phenomenon, but is related to lunar cycles and, like the blue Moon, to how we organize the calendar. Additionally, being a popular name, it is sometimes used to describe different things.

The most common thing is that we speak of Black Moon to refer to the second new moon of the same month. The logic is the same as for the blue Moon: since the lunar cycle lasts about 29.5 days, if the new Moon falls very early in the month there is time for a second one. Also in your case you can talk about «seasonal black moon», if four new Moons occur in the same season of the year.

The term Black Moon is sometimes used to describe refer simply to the new moonand that is how it is represented in most lunar calendars: as a black moon.

When will the next black moon occur?

The last black Moon, understood as the second new Moon of the same month, occurred on August 23, 2025. We will have to wait until August 31, 2027 for this phenomenon to occur again.