(All times are in Australian Eastern Standard Time)
- Last quarter Moon: 8:03 pm April 4th
- New Moon: 12:31 pm April 12th
- First Quarter: 05:00 pm April 20th
- Full Moon: 01:32 pm April 27th
Did you know that although the exact date of Easter varies each year, there’s a definite period in which Easter can occur. This period is from March 22nd through to April 25th (in the Gregorian calendar, not the Julian calendar). Easter always occurs on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon. This is the first full moon that occurs after the vernal equinox which signifies the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere. For us this is the autumnal equinox in the Southern hemisphere.
In 2021, the equinox fell on March 20th, 2021, making the first full moon after that date to be March 28th and the following Sunday therefore is April 4th.
On April 17th in the evening, you will find Mars close to the crescent Moon.
On April 15, at 4am the Moon will be at its furthest point from us (Apogee) for this month being a 406,119 km away.
The full moon on the 27th is a perigee or ‘super’ moon meaning that it will be closer, while at 1am on the 28th it will at its closest approach to us 357,378km away. This is the second closest it will be to us this year – Next month on May 26th we will have a lunar eclipse when the Moon is at it closest for the year a mere 357,311 km away.