- 7 Oct, 08:03 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 14 Oct, 07:32 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 20 Oct, 23:12 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 28 Oct, 20:37 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Hunter’s Moon.
- During October 1985 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 27 November 1985 (November 1985).
Moon phase times, October 1985
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 7 Oct | Last quarter | 08:03 | 05:03 |
| Mon 14 Oct | New moon | 07:32 | 04:32 |
| Sun 20 Oct | First quarter | 23:12 | 20:12 |
| Mon 28 Oct | Full moon · Hunter’s Moon | 20:37 | 17:37 |
The sky: October 1985
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Sat 5 Oct | Venus and Mars together | Only 0.1° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Tue 8 Oct | Draconids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 35% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Wed 9 Oct | Southern Taurids meteor shower peak | Up to 5 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 19% lit and will not interfere. |
| Sat 12 Oct | The Moon near Mars | About 2.8° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Sat 12 Oct | The Moon near Venus | About 2.2° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Tue 15 Oct | The Moon near Mercury | About 1.2° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Wed 16 Oct | The Moon near Saturn | About 3.4° apart, but Saturn is not visible that night. |
| Mon 21 Oct | Orionids meteor shower peak | Up to 20 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 57% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Mon 21 Oct | The Moon near Jupiter | About 4.4° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
How to read the moon calendar
Each day shows its date, the share of the Moon’s disc that is lit at noon, and the Moon’s shape that day. When a full moon, new moon or quarter falls on a day, it is named at the bottom of the cell.
Illumination is the part of the disc lit by the Sun. It grows from new moon to full moon (waxing) and shrinks from full moon to new moon (waning). Each day opens its own page with every signal for that date.
Full moon dates 1985
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 7 Jan | 02:15 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Tue 5 Feb | 15:18 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Thu 7 Mar | 02:12 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Fri 5 Apr | 11:32 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Sat 4 May | 19:52 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Mon 3 Jun | 03:50 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Tue 2 Jul | 12:08 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Thu 1 Aug | 21:40 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Fri 30 Aug | 09:26 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Sun 29 Sep | 00:08 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Mon 28 Oct | 17:37 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Wed 27 Nov | 12:41 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Fri 27 Dec | 07:30 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1985
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 21 Jan | 02:28 | passed |
| Tue 19 Feb | 18:42 | passed |
| Thu 21 Mar | 11:58 | passed |
| Sat 20 Apr | 05:21 | passed |
| Mon 20 May | 21:40 | passed |
| Tue 18 Jun | 11:57 | passed |
| Thu 18 Jul | 23:56 | passed |
| Fri 16 Aug | 10:05 | passed |
| Sat 14 Sep | 19:19 | passed |
| Mon 14 Oct | 04:32 | passed |
| Tue 12 Nov | 14:20 | passed |
| Thu 12 Dec | 00:54 | passed |
The eight moon phases explained
Four principal phases are exact instants; the four in between are the days that connect them.
Solar and lunar eclipses in 1985
No eclipse data for 1985.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in October 1985?
The full moon is on 28 October 1985. Its traditional name is the Hunter’s Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in October 1985?
The new moon is on 14 October 1985. The Moon can’t be seen that night: it sits between Earth and the Sun with its lit side turned away.
What do the percentages mean?
They show how much of the Moon’s disc is lit at noon. 0% is new moon, 100% is full moon and 50% is a quarter.
Why does another calendar give a different date?
A phase is a moment. When it falls near midnight, the date can differ by one day between time zones. This calendar uses Europe/Vilnius time for the days.
How often is there a full moon?
About every 29.5 days. Some months have two; the second is called a Blue Moon.
- Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, 2nd ed., Willmann-Bell, 1998, chapters 48 and 49.
- NASA Eclipse Web Site (eclipse dates and visibility).
Numbers update through the day from public sources. The text for each day is written from that day’s data and checked by the editor. Every past day keeps its own page in the archive.