'Pink Moon' vs. Lyrids Meteor Shower: Peak Dates

Two cool events will soon be filling the sky -- April’s famous “Pink Moon" and the Lyrids Meteor Shower.

Unfortunately, astronomers say they'll kind of cancel each other out.

First, there's the Pink Moon, that is set to bloom this week. Will it really be pink?

Well, no, it won’t, according to fullmoonphases.com. The name comes from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the first widespread flowers of the spring.

But it's likely to interfere with another anticipated celestial event, the Lyrids Meteor Shower, which peaks Thursday and Friday, April 21-22.

Earthsky.org says that light from the full moon could make the meteor shower a bust.

It’s too bad, too, because although the Lyrids don’t produce a lot of meteors — typically, around 10 to 15 on a moonless night — they are known for uncommon, difficult-to-predict surges that can sometimes bring up to 100 meteors per hour.

Another aspect that — usually — makes this meteor shower a crowd-pleaser is that the Lyrids tend to be bright and often leave trails, which may be enough to overcome the drenching moonlight during the peak, on Friday night.

See Also

• 2016 Meteor Shower Guide: What's Up Next?

(Patch's Beth Dalbey and Jason Koestenblatt contributed to this article.)

Image credit: Nike Lewinski via Flickr / Creative Commons