'Pink Moon' and April Lyrids Meteor Shower Trails: Peak Dates

April’s famous “Pink Moon" and the Lyrids Meteor Showerboth will show up in the night sky — but this will actually be a major celestial bummer. They're likely to cancel each other out.

Let's talk about that Pink Moon first. It's set to bloom this week, but 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 interference from the full moon could make the meteor shower a bust.

That's too bad, too. 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 sometimes bring up to 100 meteors per hour.

This meteor shower also is usually a crowd-pleaser because the Lyrids tend to be bright and often leave trails, which may be enough to overcome the drenching moonlight during the peak, April 22.

Cleveland-Area Night Weather

• Thursday: A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
• Friday: A few clouds from time to time. Low 42F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
• Saturday: Clear skies. Low 41F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.

— by Patch Staffers Beth Dalbey and Jason Koestenblatt

Image credit: Nike Lewinski via Flickr / Creative Commons