- 5 Aug, 22:35 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 13 Aug, 06:21 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 19 Aug, 22:53 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Sturgeon Moon.
- 27 Aug, 12:38 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- During August 1986 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 18 September 1986 (September 1986).
Moon phase times, August 1986
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 5 Aug | New moon | 22:35 | 18:35 |
| Wed 13 Aug | First quarter | 06:21 | 02:21 |
| Tue 19 Aug | Full moon · Sturgeon Moon | 22:53 | 18:53 |
| Wed 27 Aug | Last quarter | 12:38 | 08:38 |
The sky: August 1986
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 9 Aug | The Moon near Venus | About 2.2° apart, but Venus is not visible that night. |
| Mon 11 Aug | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 19° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Tue 12 Aug | Perseids meteor shower peak | Up to 100 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 49% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Thu 14 Aug | The Moon near Saturn | About 5.1° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Sat 16 Aug | The Moon near Mars | About 0.6° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Thu 21 Aug | The Moon near Jupiter | About 1.2° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Wed 27 Aug | Venus farthest from the Sun | 46° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
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 1986
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 26 Jan | 00:30 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Mon 24 Feb | 15:01 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Wed 26 Mar | 03:01 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Thu 24 Apr | 12:46 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Sat 24 May | 20:44 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Sun 22 Jun | 03:41 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Mon 21 Jul | 10:39 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Tue 19 Aug | 18:53 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Thu 18 Sep | 05:33 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Fri 17 Oct | 19:21 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Sun 16 Nov | 12:11 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Tue 16 Dec | 07:04 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1986
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 10 Jan | 12:21 | passed |
| Sun 9 Feb | 00:55 | passed |
| Mon 10 Mar | 14:51 | passed |
| Wed 9 Apr | 06:07 | passed |
| Fri 9 May | 22:09 | passed |
| Sat 7 Jun | 14:00 | passed |
| Mon 7 Jul | 04:54 | passed |
| Tue 5 Aug | 18:35 | passed |
| Thu 4 Sep | 07:10 | passed |
| Fri 3 Oct | 18:54 | passed |
| Sun 2 Nov | 06:01 | passed |
| Mon 1 Dec | 16:42 | passed |
| Wed 31 Dec | 03:09 | 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 1986
No eclipse data for 1986.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in August 1986?
The full moon is on 19 August 1986. Its traditional name is the Sturgeon Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in August 1986?
The new moon is on 5 August 1986. 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.