Full Moon Calendar 1981 with 12 full moons
The Full Moon 1981 Calendar had 12 full moons, seasonal blue moon, solstices, equinoxes, and full moon eclipses to help you look back at the past dates.
A full moon occurs when the Earth is directly between the Sun and Moon so that the moon looks completely illuminated when you look at it. It happens about once a month or, 29.53 days on average.
Typically there are 12 full moons each year, which was true in 1981. Ready to dive a little deeper into the 1981 dates? Take a look at each month, the names associated with each full moon, the eclipses that will occur, and the dates for the equinoxes and solstices.
The dates and times provided by NASA in the United States Eastern Time (ET) account for both Eastern Standard Time (EST) and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) for part of the year in the United States. Also below is the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time. This was previously referred to as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Since you may be in a different time zone, the exact dates may shift slightly for your calendar.
When were the 1981 Full Moons?
In 1981 there were 12 full moons. All the full moons were scheduled for the middle of the month. Here’s a quick summary of the dates of each of the full moons, their names, and how they fit into each season.
The names and dates of the 12 full moons in 1981 were:
- January 20, 1981: Full Wolf Moon
- February 18, 1981: Full Snow Moon
- March 20, 1981: Full Worm Moon
- April 19, 1981: Full Pink Moon
- May 18, 1981 (May 19 UTC): Full Flower Moon
- June 17, 1981: Full Strawberry Moon
- July 17, 1981: Full Buck Moon
- August 15, 1981: Full Sturgeon Moon
- September 13, 1981 (September 14 UTC): Full Harvest Moon
- October 13, 1981: Full Hunter’s Moon
- November 11, 1981: Full Beaver Moon
- December 11, 1981: Full Cold Moon
Full Moon Calendar 1981
In 1981, there were 12 full moons on the calendar with a seasonal blue moon in February. As part of the January and July 1981 full moon there were penumbral lunar full moon eclipses.
The 1981 Full Moons were on:
January 20, 1981: Full Wolf Moon
The January 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Wolf Moon, was on Tuesday January 20, 1981 at 2:39 AM EST or 7:39 AM UTC. This was the second full moon of the Winter 1980-1981 season as the December full moon occurred hours after the 1980 Winter Solstice.
There will also be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse at the same time as the full moon, technically 11 minutes after the full moon peak.
February 18, 1981: Full Snow Moon
The February 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Snow Moon, was on Wednesday February 18, 1981 at 5:58 PM EST or 10:58 PM UTC. This was the third full moon of the Winter 1980-1981 season.
The February 1981 Full Moon was also a seasonal blue moon because it was the third full moon in a season that had four full moons.
March 20, 1981: Full Worm Moon
The March 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Worm Moon, was on Friday March 20, 1981 at 11:22 AM EST or 3:22 PM UTC. This was the fourth and last full moon of the Winter 1980-1981 season as it occurred hours before the Spring Equinox 1981.
The Vernal Equinox (Spring) was on March 20, 1981 1:03 PM EST or 5:03 PM UTC, the same day as the March Full Moon.
April 19, 1981: Full Pink Moon
The April 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Pink Moon, was on Sunday April 19, 1981 at 3:59 AM EST or 7:59 AM UTC. This was the first full moon of the Spring 1981 season.
May 18, 1981: Full Flower Moon
The May 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Flower Moon, was on Monday May 18, 1981 at 8:04 PM EDT or May 19, 1981 at 12:04 AM UTC. It was the second full moon of the Spring 1981 season.
June 17, 1981: Full Strawberry Moon
The June 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Strawberry Moon, was on Wednesday June 17, 1981 at 11:05 AM EDT or 3:05 PM UTC. This was the third full moon of the Spring 1981 season as it occurred before the Summer Solstice.
The Summer Solstice was on the calendar for June 21, 1981 at 7:45 AM EDT or 11:45 AM UTC.
July 17, 1981: Full Buck Moon
The July 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Buck Moon, was on Friday July 17, 1981 at 12:39 AM EDT or 4:39 AM UTC. This was the first full moon of the Summer 1981 season.
There will also be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse at the same time as the full moon, technically 9 minutes after the full moon peak.
August 15, 1981: Full Sturgeon Moon
The August 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Sturgeon Moon, was on Saturday August 15, 1981 at 12:37 PM EDT or 4:37 PM UTC. This was the second full moon of the Summer 1981 season.
September 13, 1981: Full Harvest Moon
The September 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Harvest Moon, was on Sunday September 13, 1981 at 11:09 PM EDT or September 14, 1981 at 3:09 AM UTC. This was the third full moon of the Summer 1981 season.
The Autumn Equinox is on the calendar for September 22, 1981 at 11:05 PM EDT or September 23, 1981 at 3:05 AM UTC. As the September full moon was closer to the Autumn Equinox than the October full moon, it was called the Full Harvest Moon.
October 13, 1981: Full Hunter’s Moon
The October 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Hunter’s Moon was on Tuesday October 13, 1981 at 8:49 AM EDT or 12:49 PM UTC. It was the first full moon of the Autumn 1981 season.
November 11, 1981: Full Beaver Moon
The November 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Beaver Moon, was on Wednesday November 11, 1981 at 5:26 PM EST or 10:26 PM UTC. It was the second full moon of the Autumn 1981 season.
December 11, 1981: Full Cold Moon
The December 1981 Full Moon, also called Full Cold Moon, was on Friday, Friday December 11, 1981 at 3:41 AM EST or 8:41 AM UTC. It was the third full moon of the Autumn 1981 season.
The Winter Solstice is on the calendar for December 21, 1981 5:51 PM EST or 10:51 PM UTC.
Related: 1981 Moon Phases
Related: 1981 New Moons
When was the Full Harvest Moon 1981?
The Full Harvest Moon in 1981 was on Sunday September 13, 1981 11:09 PM ET or September 14, 1981 3:09 AM UTC. The September full moon ninth full moon of 1981 and was the full moon in Pisces. The Full Harvest Moon was the last full moon before the Autumnal Equinox, making it the last full moon of Summer 1981.
Depending on the year, the Harvest Moon may either be part of the Summer or Autumn season. In 1981 it was part of Summer. The New Harvest Moon occurred in August on Saturday August 29, 1981 10:44 AM ET or 2:44 PM UTC, prior to the Autumnal Equinox. The August New Moon was the last new moon of Summer.
What were the names of 1981 full moons?
The names of the 1981 full moons are as follows:
- January 20: Full Wolf Moon
- February 18: Full Snow Moon
- March 20: Full Worm Moon
- April 19: Full Pink Moon
- May 18 (May 19 UTC): Full Flower Moon
- June 17: Full Strawberry Moon
- July 17: Full Buck Moon
- August 15: Full Sturgeon Moon
- September 13 (September 14 UTC): Full Harvest Moon
- October 13: Full Hunter’s Moon
- November 11: Full Beaver Moon
- December 11: Full Cold Moon
The September full moon is called the Full Harvest Moon because it’s closer to the Autumn Equinox than the October Full Moon.
Was there a blue moon in 1981?
In 1981 there was a seasonal blue moon as part of the Winter 1980-1981 season because it had four full moons. The February 1981 full moon was considered a seasonal blue moon, which occurred on Wednesday February 18, 1981 at 5:58 PM EST or 10:58 PM UTC. The March Full Moon occurred a few hours prior to the Vernal Equinox making this possible.
There are two definitions of blue moons. The most common, and the one you likely know, is when two full moons occur in the same month. The second full moon is typically called a blue moon.
The second definition of a blue moon relates to having an extra full moon during a season. When a season has four full moons, the third full moon of the season is also called a blue moon or a seasonal blue moon to help distinguish between the other definition.
There was not a calendar blue moon in 1981 because none of the months had 2 full moons that year.
1981 Equinoxes and Solstices
Below are the dates for the equinoxes and solstices from 1981. The Spring Equinox and March full moon fell on the same date. The peak of the full moon occurred a few hours prior to the equinox.
The Winter 1980-1981 season had four full moons because the peak of the December 1980 full moon occurred a few hours after the Winter Solstice and the March 1981 full moon peaked a few hours prior to the Spring Equinox. The February 1981 full moon was considered a seasonal blue moon as it was the third full moon in a season with four full moons.
All of the other 1981 seasons had three full moons.
The 1981 dates of the equinoxes and solstices were:
- Vernal Equinox (Spring): March 20, 1981 at 1:03 PM EST or 5:03 PM UTC
- Summer Solstice: June 21, 1981 at 7:45 AM EDT or 11:45 AM UTC
- Autumnal Equinox: September 22, 1981 at 11:05 PM EDT or September 23, 1981 at 3:05 AM UTC
- Winter Solstice: December 21, 1981 at 5:51 PM EST or 10:51 PM UTC
The first full moon after Spring Equinox 1981 was on Sunday April 19, 1981 at 3:59 AM EST or 7:59 AM UTC. It was the April 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Pink Moon.
The first full moon after the Summer Solstice 1981 was on Friday July 17, 1981 at 12:39 AM EDT or 4:39 AM UTC. It was the July 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Buck Moon.
The first full moon after the Autumn Equinox 1981 was on Tuesday October 13, 1981 at 8:49 AM EDT or 12:49 PM UTC. It was the October 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Hunter’s Moon.
The first full moon after the Winter Solstice 1981 was on Saturday January 9, 1982 2:53 PM EST or 7:53 PM UTC. It was the January 1982 full moon because the December 1981 full moon occurred before the Winter Solstice in 1981.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few frequently asked questions about the 1981 Full Moon Calendar to help you review the moons in the past.
There were 12 full moons in 1981 with one full moon each month of the year. There was not a calendar blue moon that year, which would have increased the total number of annual full moons.
The first full moon of 1981 was on Tuesday January 20, 1981 at 2:39 AM EST or 7:39 AM UTC. It was called the Full Wolf Moon. It was also the second full moon of the Winter 1980-1981 season.
No in 1981 the October Full Moon was on October 13th, not on Halloween. In other years there is a Halloween full moon, which would also be an October Blue Moon.
No, in 1981 the December Full Moon was on December 11th, not on Christmas. In other years a Christmas or Christmas Eve full moon will occur, but not in 1981.
