Did 2011 Supermoon Cause Japan Earthquake, Tsunami?

by NowPublic Staff | March 11, 2011 at 12:10 pm

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A Massive Earthquake and Tsunami Hit Japan on March 11, 2011. Was the Supermoon a Factor?

Over the last few days, there have reports that the 'Supermoon', which occurs when the moon's orbit closely approaches the Earth while in full phase, may have affected the massive earthquake in Japan.

On March 19, 2011 the moon be the closest it's been to Earth than it's been since 1992.

Astronomer Richard Nolle has referred to the 2011 Supermoon as an "extreme Supermoon."

Nolle has stated that the Supermoon could impact events before or after March 19.

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 has been noted that natural disasters have taken place during previous Supermoons. Past super moons have been connected to the Indonesian earthquake in 2005, and a massive flood in Australia in 1954.

Mind you there are plenty of Supermoon skeptics out there who point out that correlation is not causation. Some scientists have noted that the moon can affect ocean tides, but has no effect on earthquakes.

Complete nonsense. The moon has no significant effect on earthquake triggering.
'If the moon triggers "big" earthquakes, it would trigger the many of millions of times more "small" earthquakes that happen daily. There is no time dependence of those; hence no moon effect.'

Discover Magazine's Bad Astronomy blog also tries to debunk the link between the Supermoon and the 2011 Japan Earthquake