An article was published March 10, 2011 about astrologers thinking that the super large moon on March 19 would trigger natural disasters.  March 10th was the day before the horrible 9.1 earthquake that set of the chain of events that has crippled the nation of Japan. 

According to Yahoo. com:

On March 19, the moon will swing around Earth more closely than it has in the past 18 years, lighting up the night sky from just 221,567 miles (356,577 kilometers) away. On top of that, it will be full. And one astrologer believes it could inflict massive damage on the planet.

Richard Nolle, a noted astrologer who runs the website astropro.com, has famously termed the upcoming full moon at lunar perigee (the closest approach during its orbit) an “extreme supermoon.”

When the moon goes super-extreme, Nolle says, chaos will ensue: Huge storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters can be expected to wreak havoc on Earth. (It should be noted that astrology is not a real science, but merely makes connections between astronomical and mystical events.)

But do we really need to start stocking survival shelters in preparation for the supermoon?

Judging from the past week, the answer must be YES.  We have had  earthquakes, tsunamis,  nuclear disasters, and volcanic eruptions. 

The question is not actually so crazy. In fact scientists have studied related scenarios for decades. Even under normal conditions, the moon is close enough to Earth to make its weighty presence felt: It causes the ebb and flow of the ocean tides.

The moon’s gravity can even cause small but measureable ebbs and flows in the continents, called “land tides” or “solid Earth tides,” too. The tides are greatest during full and new moons, when the sun and moon are aligned either on the same or opposite sides of the Earth.

According to John Vidale, a seismologist at the University of Washington in Seattle and director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, particularly dramatic land and ocean tides do trigger earthquakes. “Both the moon and sun do stress the Earth a tiny bit, and when we look hard we can see a very small increase in tectonic activity when they’re aligned,” Vidale told Life’s Little Mysteries, a sister site to SPACE.com.

At times of full and new moons, “you see a less-than-1-percent increase in earthquake activity, and a slightly higher response in volcanoes.”

The effect of tides on seismic activity is greatest in subduction zones such as the Pacific Northwest, where one tectonic plate is sliding under another. William Wilcock, another seismologist at the University of Washington, explained: “When you have a low tide, there’s less water, so the pressure on the seafloor is smaller. That pressure is clamping the fault together, so when it’s not there, it makes it easier for the fault to slip.”

According to Wilcock, earthquake activity in subduction zones at low tides is 10 percent higher than at other times of the day, but he hasn’t observed any correlations between earthquake activity and especially low tides at new and full moons. Vidale has observed only a very small correlation.

What about during a lunar perigee? Can we expect more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on March 19, when the full moon will be so close?

The moon’s gravitational pull at lunar perigee, the scientists say, is not different enough from its pull at other times to significantly change the height of the tides and thus the likelihood of natural disasters

Several people sent me this article for Moonhowlings–before the earthquake.  I found it haunting by Friday…like a harbinger of doom.  So is there anything to  the latest rash of disasters being linked to a supermoon or is that just an old wives’ tale?   Will the Japanese be able to contain the nuclear reactors?  Is there more danger than previously thought?

 

13 Thoughts to “Will March 19 ‘Supermoon’ Trigger Natural Disasters?”

  1. Slowpoke Rodriguez

    Will more babies be born as a result?

  2. They usually are 9 months after natural disasters. I expect there isn’t the privacy to cause that phenomena in Japan.

  3. If I must spell it out, this article was about irony.

  4. I predict a huge increase in werewolf sightings. Possible zombie outbreak. Even zombie werewolves….or would that be werewolf zombies………?

  5. rod2155

    It triggered my Insomnia…

  6. This early supermoon is why Easter is so very late this year. Vernal equinox isn’t until March 21. So easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The next full moon is April 18th, a Monday. The following Sunday, the 24th, is Easter.

    All the chicks and baby bunnies will be half grown by the time Easter gets here.

  7. Firedancer

    Oh wow! Thanks for letting me know! I didn’t realize this was happening, and will most definitely be outside tomorrow night…hope it’s clear…

  8. Slowpoke Rodriguez

    I thought the babies came flying out during a regular full moon. I figured this one ought to REALLY do the trick!

    1. Slow, are you having another baby? The third one? You just had one a few months ago didn’t you?

      Full moon to bring babies with some people. I am very susceptible. Both of mine were full moon babies.

  9. http://www.space.com

    On Saturday afternoon, the moon will be the closest it’s been to Earth in more than 18 years. The “supermoon,” as observers have dubbed it, will appear at 3 p.m. ET at a distance of 221,565 miles away. It will appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than your average full moon, weather permitting. The reason why the moon will be so much closer is due to a fluke of orbital mechanics. But don’t be alarmed: Although the supermoon will result in a dramatically large range of high and low ocean tides—which could result in flooding problems if combined with a coastal storm at the same time—it won’t cause a natural disaster

  10. DB

    Moon aside (and it was beautiful) I have to share a conversation I had with a young (22 yr old) person this week..and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. A friend (22yrs) came to work the other day and told me about what she heard from her co-workers at her second job, that Japan was so upset about the rise in gas prices that they, the country of Japan, created the tsunami in protest. AND she believed what she was told!!!!!! After my head stopped spinning from the absolute stupidity of her statement, and because I do not suffer fools I calmly explained to her that the tsunami was created because Godzilla was rising out of the ocean and Mothra was flapping it’s wings in protest. Took her a couple of minutes to figure out I was pulling her leg, but eventually she got the connection between her stupid statement and mine, and then I was happy to share the whole pacific plate, north american plate thing that actually, really exists.

    1. @DB

      That really is pathetic. Does this poor girl now understand about tsunamis?

  11. DB

    Yeah she’s got the tsunami thing understood. But as for a desire to watch the news…not so much. Well all I can say is that no matter how I urge her to watch the news on TV, read a paper, listen to news on the radio , look at news online etc. she is firmly convinced that “news” is for “old people”. She is more than happy to receive her news via facebook updates or links from those as in the dark as she is. A coworker and I were discussing a trip to Puerto Rico and I said something like “at least Puerto Rico is part of the US” and I swear to God my coworker exclaimed “When did that happen?” Both myself and the Peruvian I was talking to just shook our heads and walked away.

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