If you've been looking at the Moon this week, you'll have seen it hop across the night sky, tracking eastward each night and meeting a few springtime stars along the way.
The Moon was close to star Regulus on 8 and 9 April.
Regulus is one of the brightest stars of the springtime night sky, and it's one of three bright stars the Moon meets this week, leading up to the Pink Moon rising tonight, Sunday 13 April.
The other two stars are Porrima and Spica, which you may have seen forming a triangle with the Moon on Friday 11 April.
Last week, 2–6 April, the Moon had close encounters with the planets Mars and Jupiter, but this week the Moon meets the springtime stars.
Moon and Regulus, 8 April
If you were looking at the Moon on Tuesday 8 April, you'll have seen the Moon and bright star Regulus in the southeast around 21:00 BST.
Regulus is a naked-eye star, the brightest in the constellation Leo.
It forms the base of a star pattern known as the Sickle, itself forming the head of Leo the lion.
Now that you know how to find Regulus, use it as a starting point for exploring the constellation Leo and the Sickle star pattern with binoculars or a telescope.
For help with this, read our guide to observing the best galaxies in Leo.
But if you want to explore Leo like this, pick a period when the Moon is out of the way, as the bright lunar glare will negatively affect how much of the deep sky you can see.
Moon and Regulus, 9 April
Once again on 9 April, around 21:00 BST, the Moon was to the left of Regulus.
You may have noticed that, while Regulus hadn't changed its position in the sky compared to the previous evening, the Moon had.
The Moon tracks eastwards each night, meaning on 9 April it was slightly further away from Regulus than it was on 8 April, but the two were still close together in the night sky.
As we head into the weekend, the Moon will meet two more stars before the full Moon – the Pink Moon – rises on Sunday.
Moon, Porrima and Spica, 11 April
On Friday 11 April, the Moon was just below bright star Porrima, forming a right-angled triangle with Porrima and Spica.
You'll have seen the grouping in the southeast around 22:00 BST.
It will be worth remembering Spica, because the Moon will be getting closer to it over the next two nights.
And because the Moon tracks eastward night after night, on 11 April the Moon was to the right of Spica, but by tomorrow, 13 April, the Moon will be to the left of it.
Moon near Spica, 12 April
Last night, 12 April, the Moon was very nearly full and lay to the right of star Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo.
The Moon and Spica were visible in the southeast at 22:00 BST, climbing higher in the sky and moving westwards, visible in the south around midnight.
Tonight, 13 April, the Moon will be full – the fourth full Moon of 2025 – and will be below and to the left of Spica.
Pink Moon and Spica, 13 April
On Sunday 13 April, the full Moon rises in the east-southeast around 21:00 BST.
It will climb higher and higher in the sky and be visible in the southeast around 22:30 BST.
Above and to the right, there's a bright star near the Moon.
That's Spica, and the Moon has tracked eastward night after night this week so that, on 13 April, it's now to the left of the star, rather than to the right of it.
Observing the Moon hopping across the sky night after night is a good way of familiarising yourself with the apparent changing position of the Moon, as well as using it to explore bright stars that lie close to it.
Pink Moon
But what about the Moon itself tonight, 13 April? Isn't this the Pink Moon?
Each full Moon of the year has an informal nickname that relates to the calendar month in question.
The Pink Moon is so-called because it's the April full Moon, and the onset of springtime is heralded by a bloom in pink flowers.
So don't expect the Moon to look pink! Although if you have a clear horizon and observe it rising, you may notice it looks bigger and more orange than usual.
It looks bigger because of something called the Moon illusion, and its strange colour is something we explore in our guide on why the Moon sometimes looks orange.
If you've been observing or photographing the Moon this week, share your observations and images with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
