SuperMoon: Evildoer or just a near Moon?

By William Atkins
Monday, 14 March 2011 01:23

Science - Space

A SuperMoon, or a Moon that is at its closest distance to Earth during a full phase, has been implicated in many major disasters on Earth, as of late to the Japanese Sendai earthquake and tsunami. Is this true or false? Learn more here.

The Moon orbits the Earth – this is commonly known. However, it does not orbit Earth in a perfect circle, but rather in the shape of an ellipse, where a circle is a special type of an ellipse. At one point on its orbit, the Moon is at its closest distance to Earth, what is called its perigee.

And, this perigee point varies, too, its perigee is closer in one orbit than it is at another orbit.

When this “really-close perigee point” occurs and the Moon is a nearly full or new Moon, then the term SuperMoon is sometimes used by astrologers and other non-scientists.

An astrologer believes that the relative positions of celestial bodies, such as the Earth and the Moon, can explain why natural events (such as earthquakes, hurricanes) happen here on Earth to humans. Such persons also believe they can generate horoscopes that can reveal aspects of that person's life.

On March 19, 2011, a so-called SuperMoon will occur when the Moon is at an approximate distance of 221,567 miles (356,577 kilometers) away from Earth.

This really-close perigee point of the Moon to the Earth is only a few kilometers closer than its average perigee point.

This is the closest distance between the Earth and the Moon in eighteen years, while the Moon is in its Full moon phase.

And, this SuperMoon is being accused of contributing to the Japanese 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011, with an epicenter about 81 miles (130 kilometers) off the east cost of the Oshika Peninsula in the Tōhoku region.

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Some news stories are stating that this SuperMoon caused the Sendai earthquake in Japan. However, one American astronomer states, “Despite what a lot of people are saying, there is no way this earthquake was caused by the Moon.”

Please read the March 11, 2011 Washington Post article “The "SuperMoon" and the Japan earthquake” to learn what science has to say about this perceived association. It is authored by Jason Samenow.

The astronomer quoted above is Phil Plait, from the Discovery magazine (Bad Astronomy Blog) website. Plait wrote the BadAstronomy article “No, the “supermoon” didn’t cause the Japanese earthquake.”

Phil Plait is the creator of Bad Astronomy, along with being an astronomer, lecturer, and author.

Samenow states, “I found the piece [by Discovery magazine, and Phil Plait] the extremely convincing and highly recommend reading it. Suffice to say, I'm not on the SuperMoon causing natural chaos bandwagon.”

One commenter of the Washington Post story stated, “Coincidences are only “freaky” because of the way people think about them. Really understanding that correlation does not equal causation is essential to not being misled by an innate tendency of the human mind.”

The March 9, 2011 Space.com article "Will March 19 'Supermoon' Trigger Natural Disasters?" supports the science behind why a SuperMoon isn't an evildoer, but just a full moon that is closer than normal to Earth.

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