New moon calendar 2028

2028 has 12 new moons. The nights around each one are the darkest of the month, when faint galaxies and nebulae show best. Times are in UTC.

2026 20272028

Dark weeks in 2028

Dates when the moon is no more than 20% lit at midnight UTC. On these nights it rises late or sets early, leaving long stretches of full darkness. For the exact moon-free hours at your location, use the dark sky calendar.

New moon	Time (UTC)	Dark week
26 Jan 2028	15:13	22 to 31 January
25 Feb 2028	10:38	21 February to 1 March
26 Mar 2028	04:31	22 to 30 March
24 Apr 2028	19:47	21 to 29 April
24 May 2028	08:16	20 to 28 May
22 Jun 2028	18:28	19 to 26 June
22 Jul 2028	03:02	19 to 25 July
20 Aug 2028	10:44	17 to 24 August
18 Sep 2028	18:24	15 to 22 September
18 Oct 2028	02:57	15 to 22 October
16 Nov 2028	13:18	13 to 20 November
16 Dec 2028	02:06	13 to 20 December

All moon phases in 2028

Month	Phases (UTC)
January	First quarter 5 Jan, 01:41Full moon 12 Jan, 04:03Last quarter 18 Jan, 19:26New moon 26 Jan, 15:13
February	First quarter 3 Feb, 19:11Full moon 10 Feb, 15:04Last quarter 17 Feb, 08:08New moon 25 Feb, 10:38
March	First quarter 4 Mar, 09:02Full moon 11 Mar, 01:06Last quarter 17 Mar, 23:23New moon 26 Mar, 04:31
April	First quarter 2 Apr, 19:16Full moon 9 Apr, 10:27Last quarter 16 Apr, 16:37New moon 24 Apr, 19:47
May	First quarter 2 May, 02:26Full moon 8 May, 19:49Last quarter 16 May, 10:43New moon 24 May, 08:16First quarter 31 May, 07:37
June	Full moon 7 Jun, 06:09Last quarter 15 Jun, 04:28New moon 22 Jun, 18:28First quarter 29 Jun, 12:11
July	Full moon 6 Jul, 18:11Last quarter 14 Jul, 20:57New moon 22 Jul, 03:02First quarter 28 Jul, 17:40
August	Full moon 5 Aug, 08:10Last quarter 13 Aug, 11:45New moon 20 Aug, 10:44First quarter 27 Aug, 01:36
September	Full moon 3 Sep, 23:48Last quarter 12 Sep, 00:46New moon 18 Sep, 18:24First quarter 25 Sep, 13:10
October	Full moon 3 Oct, 16:25Last quarter 11 Oct, 11:57New moon 18 Oct, 02:57First quarter 25 Oct, 04:53
November	Full moon 2 Nov, 09:17Last quarter 9 Nov, 21:26New moon 16 Nov, 13:18First quarter 24 Nov, 00:15
December	Full moon 2 Dec, 01:40Last quarter 9 Dec, 05:39New moon 16 Dec, 02:06First quarter 23 Dec, 21:45Full moon 31 Dec, 16:48

Filters for moonlit nights

On about 72% of the nights in 2028 the moon is more than 20% lit. Narrowband and dual-band filters pass the light of emission nebulae and block most moonlight, so those nights are not lost.

Optolong L-Ultimate 3 nm 3 nm dual-band, Ha, OIII, for color cameras View at High Point Scientific
Antlia ALP-T 5 nm 5 nm dual-band, Ha, OIII, for color cameras View at High Point Scientific
Optolong L-eXtreme 7 nm 7 nm dual-band, Ha, OIII, for color cameras View at High Point Scientific
Antlia 3 nm Pro H-alpha 3 nm H-alpha, for mono cameras View at High Point Scientific

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Why the new moon matters

A full moon brightens the sky by several magnitudes and washes out galaxies, reflection nebulae and faint dust. Around new moon the sky is as dark as your site allows. Emission nebulae can still be imaged near full moon with narrowband or dual-band filters, which block most of the moonlight.

How these dates are calculated

Phase times come from astronomy-engine. Every phase from 2026 to 2028 was checked against the US Naval Observatory: the largest difference is 1.3 minutes, and the average is under a minute. Dark week dates use the moon's illuminated fraction at 00:00 UTC. A new moon late in the day in UTC can fall on the next calendar date in time zones east of Greenwich, and on the previous date well to the west.