Warning: Avoid websites that ask for credit card information to "unlock" the 1988 almanac. This document is publicly funded; you should never pay for a PDF version unless it is a professionally bound reproduction.
: 1988 was a transitional era where traditional celestial methods were still the primary backup for early satellite navigation systems like Transit (the precursor to modern GPS). Why Search for the 1988 PDF? nautical almanac 1988 pdf
1988 was a pivotal year. While the first GPS satellites were in orbit, the system was not fully operational for civilian use until the mid-1990s. For a navigator in 1988, the Almanac was not a "backup" plan; it was the primary method Warning: Avoid websites that ask for credit card
The 1988 edition was jointly produced by and the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) . A standard PDF copy will include: Why Search for the 1988 PDF
Because the almanac cycle repeats loosely every 32 years, owning the 1988 PDF allows a prepper to print a hard copy for the 2020s. For example, the almanac data for February 15, 1988, is very similar to February 15, 2020. With a small published table of "Equation of Time" differences, you can retro-engineer a modern almanac from the 1988 version.
: These allowed navigators to interpolate data down to the second, essential for reducing "sights" taken with a sextant. Sight Reduction