- 4 Dec, 19:21 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 11 Dec, 11:41 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 18 Dec, 08:47 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 26 Dec, 13:09 Vilnius time: new moon.
- During December 1981 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 9 January 1982 (January 1982).
Moon phase times, December 1981
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 4 Dec | First quarter | 19:21 | 16:21 |
| Fri 11 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 11:41 | 08:41 |
| Fri 18 Dec | Last quarter | 08:47 | 05:47 |
| Sat 26 Dec | New moon | 13:09 | 10:09 |
The sky: December 1981
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Tue 1 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 3.5° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Sun 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 88% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Fri 18 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 2.7° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Sun 20 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.9° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Mon 21 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 4.0° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Tue 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 12% lit and will not interfere. |
| Tue 29 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 2.4° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
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 1981
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 20 Jan | 07:38 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Thu 19 Feb | 22:57 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Fri 20 Mar | 15:22 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Sun 19 Apr | 07:58 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Tue 19 May | 00:03 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Wed 17 Jun | 15:04 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Fri 17 Jul | 04:38 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Sat 15 Aug | 16:36 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Mon 14 Sep | 03:08 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Tue 13 Oct | 12:49 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Thu 12 Nov | 22:26 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Fri 11 Dec | 08:41 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1981
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 6 Jan | 07:23 | passed |
| Thu 5 Feb | 22:13 | passed |
| Fri 6 Mar | 10:30 | passed |
| Sun 5 Apr | 20:19 | passed |
| Mon 4 May | 04:18 | passed |
| Tue 2 Jun | 11:31 | passed |
| Wed 1 Jul | 19:02 | passed |
| Fri 31 Jul | 03:51 | passed |
| Sat 29 Aug | 14:43 | passed |
| Mon 28 Sep | 04:07 | passed |
| Tue 27 Oct | 20:12 | passed |
| Thu 26 Nov | 14:38 | passed |
| Sat 26 Dec | 10:09 | 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 1981
No eclipse data for 1981.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 1981?
The full moon is on 11 December 1981. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 1981?
The new moon is on 26 December 1981. 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.