When the world welcomed 2020, being very special, if not for anything for its symmetry, (once in a century event, 2002 could be the closest for being symmetrical), it did not realize what is in store for us in the year ahead. Not sure whether any astrological predictions had the inclination of things to come. At a time when the COVID crisis has turned the whole world upside down and making us realize how small we are, Is this a warning the world is getting and the time to wake up and act, immediately to tackle COVID and then a bigger problem of climate change?
We are in a time when our thoughts are cluttered around the Corona virus, the developments and possibilities, making us believe as if we are all going through a period where everything has stopped. It is an appropriate time to distract from this as mother earth continues its journey, the environment is getting back to its healthy self and there’s increase in the sounds of nature, with peacocks coming out and dancing in what used to be busy concrete jungles, deer’s wandering in the housing societies and people being able to enjoy the majestic beauty of the Himalayas from as far as Jalandhar. No matter how 2020 started, in the month of April this year, the moon is going to come closest to Earth. People are also calling it “Super Pink Moon”, but why? Is it going to change its colour to look pink? Let’s know.
Moon has always been fascinating to all of us, recall the lullaby in Telugu, “Chandamama Rave….”
The moon revolves around our earth in the elliptical orbit and completes one round in 29.53 days. During which it passes through the Perigee (The point at which it is the nearest to Earth) and Apogee (The point at which the Moon is farthest from Earth) each month. This year, it will be closest when it passes through the local meridian on 7-8 April (at 356,907 km!) and will be the first super moon of this spring and would be brighter and bigger. The earth, moon and sun will be in a straight line, in technical language it is called perigee-syzygy which represents the Earth-Moon-Sun system. In 1979, astrologer Richard Noelle coined the term “super moon” (synonym for perigee-syzygy) and caught the attention of the people world over.
But then why are they saying super pink moon, will it be pink ? No. It got its name after the pink colour of early springtime blooms of wildflower, ‘moss pink’ native to eastern North America (Phlox Subulata) commonly called creeping phlox or moss phlox.
This April’s Super moon, which will be seen at different times in different places, will be seen in India during 7-8 April. This full moon is the second super full moon of 2020 (first one see seen during March 9-10) and is usually considered the last full moon of Winter. The super moon on November 14, 2016, was the closest since January 26, 1948, and next time on November 25, 2034, the moon will come even closer to the Earth. Due to the moon coming so close to the Earth, the gravitational force of the moon and sun combine would pull the ocean’s water in the same direction. The intensity of high and low tides in the ocean increases during this natural event. This super moon phenomenon causes about 5 centimeters variation in the regular spring tides. If you are missing seeing it because of the lock-down, be hopeful you would be able to see it again in May.
Toons by Taskeen Bhat
Logs from: Kartikay Shukla and Sai Baba
