- 2 Oct, 19:58 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 11 Oct, 00:48 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 18 Oct, 16:00 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 25 Oct, 07:35 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Hunter’s Moon.
- During October 1988 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 23 November 1988 (November 1988).
Moon phase times, October 1988
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 2 Oct | Last quarter | 19:58 | 16:58 |
| Tue 11 Oct | New moon | 00:48 | 21:48 |
| Tue 18 Oct | First quarter | 16:00 | 13:00 |
| Tue 25 Oct | Full moon · Hunter’s Moon | 07:35 | 04:35 |
The sky: October 1988
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Fri 7 Oct | The Moon near Venus | About 0.6° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Sat 8 Oct | Draconids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 5% lit and will not interfere. |
| Sun 9 Oct | Southern Taurids meteor shower peak | Up to 5 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 1% lit and will not interfere. |
| Sun 16 Oct | The Moon near Saturn | About 5.9° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Thu 20 Oct | Orionids meteor shower peak | Up to 20 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 79% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Sun 23 Oct | The Moon near Mars | About 4.2° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Wed 26 Oct | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 18° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
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 1988
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 4 Jan | 01:40 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Tue 2 Feb | 20:51 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Thu 3 Mar | 16:00 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Sat 2 Apr | 09:21 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Mon 2 May | 23:40 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Tue 31 May | 10:53 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Wed 29 Jun | 19:45 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Fri 29 Jul | 03:24 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Sat 27 Aug | 10:55 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Sun 25 Sep | 19:06 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Tue 25 Oct | 04:35 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Wed 23 Nov | 15:52 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Fri 23 Dec | 05:28 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1988
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 19 Jan | 05:25 | passed |
| Wed 17 Feb | 15:53 | passed |
| Fri 18 Mar | 02:01 | passed |
| Sat 16 Apr | 11:59 | passed |
| Mon 16 May | 22:10 | passed |
| Tue 14 Jun | 09:13 | passed |
| Thu 14 Jul | 21:52 | passed |
| Fri 12 Aug | 12:30 | passed |
| Sun 11 Sep | 04:48 | passed |
| Tue 11 Oct | 21:48 | passed |
| Wed 9 Nov | 14:19 | passed |
| Fri 9 Dec | 05:35 | 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 1988
No eclipse data for 1988.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in October 1988?
The full moon is on 25 October 1988. 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 1988?
The new moon is on 11 October 1988. 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.