Did approaching ‘supermoon’ cause Japan quake? (Space.com)


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As if there wasn’t already enough superstition surrounding the approaching so-called “supermoon” event, now some are saying it’s responsible for the devastating 8.9 earthquake that struck Japan just hours ago.

Blogger Mark Paquette started much of the speculation earlier about whether a closer moon could cause natural disasters. He pointed out that the last “supermoon” occurred on Jan. 10, 2005.

That’s near  the time a massive earthquake caused widespread devastation in Indonesia.

“So what can we expect this time? Earthquakes? Volcanic eruptions? I guess we can only wait and see,” Paquette wrote.

In light of the earthquake in Japan, that comment seems spooky. But others point out that there’s not much beyond circumstantial evidence to suggest that a close moon impacts anything besides the oceans’ tides.

Paul Walker, a senior meteorologist for AccuWeather (where Paquette blogs), told ABC News it’s unlikely that the moon played a role in the quake in Japan.

“I don’t think you can attribute it to being a full moon, which is still eight days away,” Walker said. “These moon events can cause the tides to run higher than normal, but I’ve not heard of any correlation between them and extreme weather events.”

And NASA astronomer Dave Williams said the “supermoon” doesn’t mean anything except a large, bright full moon.


So, is that a “no” to the “supermoon” question, then? Not so fast.

John Vidale, a University of Washington seismologist and director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, recently told a Space.com affiliate that big changes in land and ocean tides can trigger earthquakes.

And in the Pacific Northwest, we could bear the brunt of that kind of activity.

From Space.com:





But both scientists came to similar conclusions: The approaching “supermoon” isn’t causing earthquakes, though the idea isn’t so far fetched.

Then there are those who take a slightly more emphatic stance on the theory. Discover News blogger Phil Plait, a former NASA scientist, had this to say: “Despite what a lot of people are saying, there is no way this earthquake was caused by the moon.”

Here’s why, according to Plait:



However, the Moon is nowhere near perigee right now!


Categories: Science, Space