The Full Moons 1981 dates included 12 full moons with a seasonal blue moon and full moon eclipses. Here is a calendar of the past dates to help you look back.

A full moon is a lunar phase that 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 in the middle of the lunar cycle.

The 12 Full Moons in 1981 were on:

January 20, 1981 2:39 AM ET (7:39 AM UTC)
February 18, 1981 5:58 PM ET (10:58 PM UTC)
March 20, 1981 11:22 AM ET (4:22 PM UTC)
April 19, 1981 3:59 AM ET (8:59 AM UTC)
May 18, 1981 8:04 PM ET (May 19, 1981 1:04 AM UTC)
June 17, 1981 11:05 AM ET (4:05 PM UTC)
July 17, 1981 12:39 AM ET (5:39 AM UTC)
August 15, 1981 12:37 PM ET (5:37 PM UTC)
September 13, 1981 11:09 PM ET (September 14, 1981 4:09 AM UTC)
October 13, 1981 8:49 AM ET (1:49 PM UTC)
November 11, 1981 5:26 PM ET (10:26 PM UTC)
December 11, 1981 3:41 AM ET (8:41 AM UTC)

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 occurred, and the dates for the equinoxes and solstices.

Watercolor image of the moon to list the Full Moons 1981

The dates and times provided by NASA in United States Eastern Time (ET) account for both Eastern Standard Time (EST) and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) for part of the year. Also included is the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time. This was previously referred to as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Since your local time zone may differ, the exact dates may shift slightly for your calendar.

The supermoons are based on the calculations by AstroPixels.

When were the full moons in 1981?

For 1981, there were 12 full moons. The full moons aligned to the middle to end of the month each month, setting up the year to have a winter seasonal blue moon. Here’s a quick summary of the dates of each full moon, their names, and how they fit into each season.

The dates of the 1981 Full Moons were:

January 20, 1981 (Full Wolf Moon)

The January 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Wolf Moon, was on Tuesday January 20, 1981 2:39 AM ET or 7:39 AM UTC. It was the first full moon of 1981 and the second full moon of Winter 1980-1981 season. The December 1980 full moon occurred just after the Winter Solstice. The January Full Moon was also the Full Moon in Leo for 1981.

There was also a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse at the same time as the full moon, 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 February 18, 1981 5:58 PM ET or 10:58 PM UTC. It was the second full moon of 1981 and the third full moon of the Winter 1980-1981 season. The February Full Moon was the Full Moon in Virgo for 1981. In February 1981, the full moon was also considered a seasonal black moon because Winter 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 11:22 AM ET or 4:22 PM UTC. It was the third full moon of 1981 and the fourth and last full moon of the Winter 1980-1981 season. It occurred before the spring equinox 1981. The March Full Moon was the Full Moon in Virgo.

The Vernal Equinox (or Spring Equinox) was on Friday March 20, 1981 1:03 PM ET or 6:03 PM UTC, a couple of hours after 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 3:59 AM ET or 8:59 AM UTC. It was the fourth full moon of 1981 and the first full moon of the Spring 1981 season. The April Full Moon was the first full moon after the Spring Equinox 1981 and the Full Moon in Libra.

May 18, 1981 (May 19, 1981 UTC) (Full Flower Moon)

The May 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Flower Moon, was on Monday May 18, 1981 8:04 PM ET or May 19, 1981 1:04 AM UTC. It was the fifth full moon of 1981 and the second full moon of the Spring 1981 season. The May Full Moon was the Full Moon in Scorpio.

June 17, 1981 (Full Strawberry Moon)

The June 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Strawberry Moon, was on Wednesday June 17, 1981 11:05 AM ET or 4:05 PM UTC. It was the sixth full moon of 1981 and the last full moon of the Spring 1981 season. The June Full Moon occurred less than a week before the Summer Solstice and was the Full Moon in Sagittarius.

The Summer Solstice was on Sunday June 21, 1981 7:45 AM ET or 12:45 PM UTC.

July 17, 1981 (Full Buck Moon)

The July 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Buck Moon, was on Friday July 17, 1981 12:39 AM ET or 5:39 AM UTC. It was the seventh full moon of 1981 and the first full moon of the Summer 1981 season. The July Full Moon was the first full moon after the Summer Solstice in 1981 and the full moon in Capricorn.

There was also a Partial Lunar Eclipse at the same time as the full moon, 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 12:37 PM ET or 5:37 PM UTC. It was the eighth full moon of 1981 and the second full moon of the Summer 1981 season. The early August full moon was the second full moon after the Summer Solstice in 1981. The first August Full Moon was the full moon in Aquarius.

September 13, 1981 (September 14, 1981 UTC) (Full Harvest Moon)

The September 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Harvest Moon, was on Sunday September 13, 1981 11:09 PM ET or September 14, 1981 4:09 AM UTC. It was the ninth full moon of 1981 and the last full moon of the Summer 1981 season. The September full moon was the full moon in Pisces.

The Autumnal Equinox was on the calendar for Tuesday September 22, 1981 11:05 PM ET or 4:05 AM UTC. As the September full moon was closer to the Autumnal 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 8:49 AM ET or 1:49 PM UTC. It was the tenth full moon of 1981 and the first full moon of the Autumn 1981 season. The October full moon was the first full moon after the Autumnal Equinox and the full moon in Aries.

November 11, 1981 (Full Beaver Moon)

The November 1981 Full Moon, also called the Full Beaver Moon, was on Wednesday November 11, 1981 5:26 PM ET or 10:26 PM UTC. It was the eleventh full moon of 1981 and the second full moon of the Autumn 1981 season. The November Full moon was the full moon in Taurus. The Full Moon in November was also a supermoon.

December 11, 1981 (Full Cold Moon)

The December 1981 Full Moon, also called Full Cold Moon, was on Friday December 11, 1981 3:41 AM ET or 8:41 AM UTC. It was the twelfth full moon and the last full moon of 1981. The December full moon was the last full moon of the Autumn 1981 season. It was also the full moon in Gemini in 1981. The Full Moon in December was also a supermoon.

The Winter Solstice was on Monday December 21, 1981 5:51 PM ET or 10:51 PM UTC.

What were the names of the 1981 full moons?

The names of the 1981 full moons were as follows:

January: Full Wolf Moon
February: Full Snow Moon
March: Full Worm Moon
April: Full Pink Moon
May: Full Flower Moon
June: Full Strawberry Moon
July: Full Buck Moon
August: Full Sturgeon Moon
September: Full Harvest Moon
October: Full Hunter’s Moon
November: Full Beaver Moon
December: Full Cold Moon

The 1981 September full moon was called the Full Harvest Moon because it was closer to the Autumn Equinox than the 1981 October Full Moon.

Related: 1981 Full Moon Names

What were the signs of 1981 full moons?

The astrological signs of the 1981 full moons were as follows:

January 20, 1981: Leo
February 18, 1981: Virgo
March 20, 1981: Virgo
April 19, 1981: Libra
May 18, 1981 (May 19, 1981 UTC): Scorpio
June 17, 1981: Sagittarius
July 17, 1981: Capricorn
August 15, 1981:Aquarius
September 13, 1981 (September 14, 1981 UTC): Pisces
October 13, 1981: Aries
November 11, 1981: Taurus
December 11, 1981: Gemini

In 1981 the full moon calendar aligned such that both the February and March full moons were in Virgo.

When were the full supermoons in 1981?

In 1981 there were be two full supermoons during the November and December full moons.

A full supermoon is a full moon that nearly coincides with the closest that the Moon comes to the Earth in its orbit, called perigee. The moon has a larger-than-usual appearance when you look at it. There isn’t a official definition for how close the moon needs to be to the earth to be considered a supermoon. For the purposes of this site, we’ll follow the Timeanddate.com definition using moons that are less than 360,000 kilometres from the Earth.

Was there be a blue moon in 1981?

Yes, there was a seasonal blue moon in February 1981 because the Winter 1980-1981 had four full moons. The February full moon was the third moon during the season, making it a seasonal blue moon.

There are two different definitions of blue moons. The one you’re probably more familiar with is when two full moons occur in the same month. The second full moon is typically called a blue moon.

The other definition of a blue moon relates to the number of full moons in a season. When a season has four full moons, the third full moon in the season is also called a blue moon, or a seasonal blue moon to help distinguish between the other definition.

When were the first full moons of the 1981 seasons?

In 1981 most seasons had three full moons except for winter at the beginning of the year, started or ended by an equinox or solstice.

1981 Equinoxes and Solstices

The 1981 equinoxes and solstices were on the following dates:

Equinox / Solstice	Month	1981 Date	UTC
Vernal Equinox (Spring)	March	March 20, 1981 1:03 PM ET	March 20, 1981 6:03 PM UTC
Summer Solstice	June	June 21, 1981 7:45 AM ET	June 21, 1981 12:45 PM UTC
Autumnal Equinox	September	September 22, 1981 11:05 PM ET	September 22, 1981 4:05 AM UTC
Winter Solstice	December	December 21, 1981 5:51 PM ET	December 21, 1981 10:51 PM UTC

The first full moon of Spring 1981

The first full moon of Spring 1981 was on Sunday April 19, 1981 3:59 AM ET or 8:59 AM UTC. It was the first full moon after the Spring Equinox 1981. The first spring full moon was the April Full Moon, also called the Full Pink Moon.

The first full moon of Summer 1981

The first full moon of Summer 1981 was on Friday July 17, 1981 12:39 AM ET or 5:39 AM UTC. It was the first full moon after the Summer Solstice 1981. The first summer full moon was the July Full Moon, also called the Full Buck Moon.

The first full moon of Autumn 1981

The first full moon of Autumn 1981 was on Tuesday October 13, 1981 8:49 AM ET or 1:49 PM UTC. It was the first full moon after the Autumnal Equinox 1981. The first Fall Full Moon was the October Full Moon, also called the Full Hunter’s Moon in 1981.

The first full moon of Winter 1981-1982

The first full moon of Winter 1981-1982 was on Saturday January 9, 1982 2:53 PM ET or 7:53 PM UTC. It was the first full moon after the Winter Solstice. The first Winter Full Moon was the January 1982 Full Moon, also called the Full Wolf Moon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few frequently asked questions about the 1981 Full Moon Calendar to help you look back at the year.

How many full moons were in 1981?

There were 12 full moons in 1981 with one full moon each month. There was be a seasonal blue moon in 1981 as the 1980-1981 had four full moons rather than the usual three.

When was the first full moon of 1981?

The first full moon of 1981 was on Tuesday January 20, 1981 2:39 AM ET or 7:39 AM UTC. It was called the Full Wolf Moon as it was the January Full Moon. It was also the second full moon of the Winter 1980-1981 season as the December 1980 full moon occurred after the Winter Solstice.

When was the last full moon of 1981?

The last full moon of 1981 was on Friday December 11, 1981 3:41 AM ET or 8:41 AM UTC. It was called the Full Cold Moon. The December Full Moon was also the last full moon of the Autumn 1981 season it was the last full moon before the Winter Solstice.