The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile was one the most powerful in recorded history. The Chile earthquake hit on Saturday February 27 at 06:34 GMT. A curious coincidence was the earthquake occurred just before the full moon’s perigee. Perigee is when the moon is at its closest point to earth. The moon’s distance to the earth varies during its orbit and sometimes is at its closest (perigee), sometimes at its furthest (apogee). Perigee was 15 hours after the earthquake, on February 27 at 21:41 GMT. At the same time the moon was waxing 99% full.
Adding to the strangeness was a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit Japan a day earlier at 20:31 GMT Friday.
The moon affects our tides. The tides are strongest when the moon is full, lined up straight with the earth and sun. The result is something called a spring tide, which is when the tides are highest. When the moon is at perigee its gravitational strength is also nearly 50% greater.
Did the moon’s gravity trigger the Chile earthquake? It seems like an awfully strange coincidence. There have been theories that when the planets line up in our solar system, it will create disastrous earthquakes and earth changes. This has never happened since the planets are too far away for their gravity to have an influence on the earth. The sun and moon are a different story, as their influence on our tides show. When the conditions are just right, perhaps the stress of tidal forces on our crust can trigger the earth to shake.
Update: Thursday March 4th a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan, described as “This is the biggest quake to hit this region in more than a century,” according to the director of the Central Weather Bureau’s Seismology Center.
February 28th, 2010 at 9:24 am
This is a very logical non-superstitious belief compared to the Haiti earthquake and Nostradamus hulabaloo I’ve been seeing on the web. It’s about time we stop looking at the fantastic angle of events (no matter how paranormal) but instead look at the facts of life.
February 28th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Hi Jr,
I think science mostly discounts the possiblity of the moon causing earthquakes. Yet it can’t be totally discounted, and with the Chile earthquake is a hint there might be some connection with the moon.
Dave
February 28th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
It is, in my opinion, a mistake to discount potential factors in a very complex system.
March 1st, 2010 at 12:27 am
Stephanie,
I agree. I also like the stories of animals that seem to sense a disturbance in the earth before an earthquake happens. I have not seen any stories about this from Chile yet, but I am keeping my eyes open.
Dave
March 4th, 2010 at 1:49 am
This article while highlighting an interesting theory about the moon’s effect on earthquakes is totally incorrect. Perigee was actually in January of 2010 not February. Perigee took place with the full moon on January the 30th…
March 4th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Hi Justin,
I used this site: http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/pacalc.html to see when perigee took place. It happens quite often in a year.
Perigee
———————————
Jan 1 20:37 358682 km F+1d 1h
Jan 30 9:04 356592 km ++ F+ 2h
Feb 27 21:41 357831 km F- 18h
Mar 28 4:57 361876 km F-1d21h
Apr 24 21:00 367141 km F-3d15h
May 20 8:40 369728 km N+6d 7h
Jun 15 14:55 365936 km N+3d 3h
Jul 13 11:22 361114 km N+1d15h
Aug 10 17:57 357857 km N+ 14h
Sep 8 4:02 357191 km N- 6h
Oct 6 13:42 359452 km N-1d 5h
Nov 3 17:23 364188 km N-2d11h
Nov 30 19:10 369438 km N-4d22h
Dec 25 12:25 368462 km F+4d 4h
March 6th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
I recently watched a documentary on either the National Geographic or History channel that centered around a scientist who predicted a number of major earthquakes around the world (including the one that struck San Francisco during the world series). His success rate was astonishing but he was censured and ordered to stop his predictions as they were causing panic and unrest. Hey! I heard recently that Galileo has been forgiven for saying that the earth orbits around the sun. Maybe we could use the same Occam’s razor to cut through this clash of thinking.
March 6th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
A recent documentary centered around a man who used this correlation between full moon perigee and earthquakes around the world with astonishing success (including the one in San Francisco during the world series). He was censured and ordered to stop since he was causing panic and unrest. In the documentary he credits the inspiration for the thesis to a Chilean who said, “we watch the full moon and then we wait for the earthquake.”
March 27th, 2010 at 6:42 am
I had noticed the correlation of the lunar phase and the earthquakes. If I read the above chart correctly do I understand the next perigree to be tomorrow but that it will not be near as close as the previous 3. I had predicted we would see another quake tomorrow but this data if I read it right tells me we may be safe till sometime next year. Tectonic Geo De stabilization is a real issue caused by many factors the chief one I feel everyone is missing.. I am writing a film that deals with this possibility the more I read the less I feel my movie is Hollywood and is becoming more a documentary.
March 29th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Hi Jed,
I’d guess the moon is not the primary factor with earthquakes, but contributes to them. When the Chile earthquake happened during the full moon I checked and saw the moon was at perigee. A strange coincidence that does not prove anything, but is still curious. For sure I’ll check the skies when a future major earthquake occurs.
Dave
July 5th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Well we all have our own ideas and here is mine.
4billion years ago the moon was orbiting earth at a colosal rate and was so close the magnetic fields on both the moon and the earth were reacting against each other, pushing the moon away and it is to this day moving at about 4cm per year. As it got further away the pull on the earth from the moon became stronger and as the moon rotated around te earth it pulled so violently it caused masive eruptions and earthquaks but in different parts of the earth, getting to present day, as the moon aligns over a weak part of the earth it pulls many of the latest earthquake’s and volcano eruptions were predicted to within days and this includes the christmas hiti sunami, there is a man and wife team who have pridicted volcano eruptions all over the world in the last 25 years and NEVER been wrong. As the moon moves away things are going to get much much worse, our only saving grace is it wont be in our life time but it IS GOING TO HAPPEN.
July 10th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Hi Paul,
You could have a point. I am not certain about the details. But I will keep watching!
Dave
September 4th, 2010 at 12:38 am
there has been a devastating earthquake in NZ at 4.35am In Christchurch this morning, no deaths reported, but the city has now been declared a state of emergency…
September 10th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Hi Sally,
I know about the New Zealand earthquake. Magnitude 7.2. That is not far from other big quakes around your region. It feels like quakes are getting stronger. What is going on? I am beginning to wonder about 2012. We’ll know in a few years.
Dave
September 20th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Hi, I live in Christchurch New Zealand and woke up to the horror of that earthquake on the 4th. Just today I heard about this perigee effects on the techtonic plates and i have to admit, it makes sense, especially after reading this:
http://www.predictweather.com/ArticleShow.aspx?ID=306&type=home
The way he described the moon coming down southward, and causing earthquakes beneath it along the country is exactly what happened. This happens to be along the alpine faultline of the South Island of new Zealand. According to this another is possible on the 24th (Friday) this week! We have had over 720 earthquakes since the 4th so far (16 days) and all VERY shallow ones, some 0 kms deep but mostly about 4-5 in depth (with some deeper)If the moon does cause a particularly strong pull it truly might cause major earthquakes here because of the shallowness of the plates. I’m gonna be prepared – I’m warning everybody here “just in case”!
October 22nd, 2010 at 1:57 pm
This is not at all acceptable,i have been studying on all Natural Disasters on earth , this is just a co-incedence, this perigee and apogee happens the day from the creation of earth.
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November 2nd, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Amigos, comparto la teoria de que la influencia de la Luna y el Sol puedan ocasionar sismos y mi pregunta es ?donde puedo encontrar estadisticas historicas de las fases lunares, especialmente de luna llena?
November 8th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Hi Aldo,
There are a number of websites that give out the moon phase year by year. One example: http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon
and for earthquake info there is http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/
I personally started to notice the moon influencing earthquakes after the Haiti earthquake. Right afterwards was a solar eclipse. That got me to thinking!
Dave
November 15th, 2010 at 1:05 am
Has anyone read the predictions of Ken Ring? He lives in New Zealand, and is quite accurate in his earthquake predictions. We call him The Moon Man… and he has loads of followers, but not amongst the scientific world of course. go to http://www.predictweather.com, and check him out. He talks a lot about moon in perigee, apogee, lunar equinox, northern declinations etc.. its very interesting.. we have a big line up next march of 4of those factors rolled into 1… he said we might have another earthquake for the history books.. march 23rd 2011… watch for it.
November 28th, 2010 at 6:06 am
Moon controls ocean tides on the surface of the earth as well as the liquid core in the center of the earth.
When the moon is full or new it has maximum pull on these liquids, especially when at perigee.
There is other factors which contribute to earth changes like, weakening of the earths magnetic field, positioning of the planets, etc.
Critical days 4 days before full moon. New moon,same day.
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:21 am
Still in shock about yesterdays quake… my heart goes out to all the poor people down in Christchurch who have lost friends family and lovedones and those who are still MIA … my advise is that it might pay to get the hell out of there during march as things could get worse
February 24th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
Hi Al,
I watched with horror what happened in New Zealand. I feel so bad for the people of Christchurch. We imagine such things can’t happen in advanced nations that we are somehow protected and this only happens in places like Haiti. But we are all venerable to earth disasters. I fear Christchurch is just the beginning when it comes to earthquake.
Dave
March 3rd, 2011 at 8:54 pm
I live just outside Christchurch and was interested to see what correlations there are between the recent Christchurch area earthquakes and the moon.
Sept 4, 2010: 10 days after full moon
Dec 26, 2010: 8 days after full moon
Feb 22, 2010: 4 days after full moon
There does not seem to be any direct correlation to full moon.
David: There are big differences between Haiti and Christchurch. It is not so much in the size of the shake, but how the engineering holds up and how quickly people can recover.
In Christchurch there have been approx 200 people killed, in Haiti the number was over 200,000. Thousand times difference.
Christchurch had water, food and sanitation relief operating within hours. Within 2 days most people were sorted out. There have been no outbreaks of diseases etc.
Ten days on from the quake, over half the liquefaction silts have been removed, most people have power and running water and most roads are fixed.
Most of Christchurch is now operating pretty much as usual.
Of course there is damage that is going to take years to fix up, but we can work around that for the most part.
March 3rd, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Hi Charles,
I didn’t see any correlation with the moon and the Christchruch earthquake. However, the Christchurch did occur between two of the biggest solar flares in years. We had a Class X flare on Feb. 14, the first in 4 years. The sun is getting active again, what impact will that have on our humble planet? Time will tell.
It is good news that Christchurch is getting back to normal.
Dave
March 4th, 2011 at 10:03 pm
David
Our brain is a pattern matching engine so it is natural to look for patterns and we will find them even if they don’t really exist.
Coincidences are not the same as correlation. Flares will happen as will earthquakes. Sometimes they will happen at the same time and even some might seem to follow patters for a while.
If you want to link solar flares to earthquakes then you have you work cut out. Even if you just look at the Christchurch area, there was a bigger earthquake in September 2010. No flare then.
The recent Christchurch earthquake is a direct result of the same forces that caused the Sept 2010 earthquake. There was significant strain at the eastern end of the Greendale fault (ie. just south west of Christchurch). It would obviously rip further east at some point but nobody could say when and with how much energy. Some cosmic forces might have helped to trigger the quake, but it would have happened any way.
March 4th, 2011 at 10:25 pm
Charles,
For sure most earthquakes happen randomly. Yet, I have been following major earthquakes and the full moon, and there have been a number of strange coincidences involved. Not every earthquake is caused by the moon, but it seems the moon does cause some (not all) quakes. As for flares, time wil tell. I wrote about a Nostradamus prediction involving the aurora borealis and how a 3 night display visible in France will be followed by an earthquake. With the increase in solar activity, we might have a chance to see if this prediction actually comes to pass.
Dave
March 5th, 2011 at 4:22 am
David
There is a key difference between “causing” and “triggering”.
A quake only happen when significant stresses build up in the earth to the extent that the rocks eventually breaks. We are talking about huge amounts of stress. Relative to that, earth tide etc are trivial amounts.
Some research into earth-tides suggests that these cause micro-quakes of around magnitude zero or less. Earthquake energy increases by a factor of 1000 for every 2 magnitude which means a magnitude 0 quake only has a billionth of the energy in a magnitude 6 quake.
It is somewhat plausible that the tidal forces of the moon could trigger a quake. That is, the stresses have already built up to 99.9999999% of the breaking point and the pull of the moon provides the extra 0.00000001% to actually trigger the quake.
If the full moon did not trigger a quake then it would happen through stress build up in the next few days.
That is why any correlation between moon phase and earthquakes is so weak. It just triggers what would happen in the next few days anyway.
David, the only way to get away from observing coincidences to observing correlation is to understand these terms a bit better and study statistics. You might find quakes that support your theory but you will find many that do not. Statistics can help you understand if there is true significance.
March 5th, 2011 at 6:10 am
Charles,
I know the moon hasn’t been accepted by science as a cause for earthquakes. Yet, is the moon/quake coincidence only coincidence? Or are we ignoring some serious clues to some actual science? Science ignores a lot of stuff. Who would have imagined dark matter and dark energy comprised the vast majority of the universe? A few decades ago such notions would be considered crazy. Not every outrageous idea is delusion. I think serious science ignores things it can’t prove this moment in time.
Dave
March 5th, 2011 at 9:47 am
I am from chch nz and we just had another aftershock one of the many 5000+ if this Moon theory was true then im pretty sure we would know about it unless its a govt cover up like people think aliens are- We know how to split atoms, but dont know if the moon effects earthquakes i find that hard to believe. Ohh we just had another one, about the 5th ive felt in the last three hours
March 5th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
David
The dark matter theories sprang from the observation that there seemed to be mass missing from the visible universe. Like most science, you start with an observation, build a theory, then test it.
There are only very limited correlations between earthquakes and moon phase. There are even less theories to link the two.
If you want to claim that the phase of the moon causes earthquakes, then why don’t we see earthquakes all over the place? If the moon caused earthquakes, then we’d expect to see as many earthquakes per square km in Australia and Europe as we see in NZ, Chile and Japan.
While there are indeed a few earthquakes in other parts of the world, they are predominantly found in the areas with the greatest tectonic conflict such as Chile, NZ, Japan etc.
I do agree that science does often ignore what it can’t explain. For example plate tectonic theory was only accepted in the 1960s even though proposed many years before.
A good scientist will accept that scientific knowledge is limited. But a good scientist will also dismiss claims that don’t stack up. Good science is driven by data, not by choosing a theory and then cherry-picking the data to back it up.
There are three fundamental flaws in the claim that the moon phase causes earthquakes:
1) Any correlation is very weak. As I stated a few posts ago, some degree of triggering can be inferred but not outright causation.
2) Places that get an equal view of the moon don’t get an equal number of quakes.
3) The competing theory – that earthquakes are caused by stresses built up in the crust, primarily by plate tectonics – if far stronger.
March 8th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
Charles,
You make good points. Earthquakes are the result of stresses, mostly in the ring of fire and other earthquake prone regions. Still, the moon exerts a gravitational pull on the earth (tides), and when the moon is aligned with the sun, I suggest this gravity may cause/trigger quakes. I have no proof of this outside of curious coincidences. Click on my Moon category and you’ll see instances where the phases of the moon coincided with major earthquakes. http://occultview.com/category/moon/
Will these coincidences continue? Let’s keep watching.
As for dark matter, some speculate dark matter does not exist and instead Einstein had flaws in his understanding of gravity on a cosmic scale. It’s hard to imagine 95% of the universe is invisible, but if this is reality, then what else is invisible? A multiverse? That would be like going down the rabbit hole.
Dave
March 9th, 2011 at 3:38 am
David
As I said earlier, there is a very big difference between cause and trigger. You are trying to treat these as similes.
It is accepted that moon phase might tend to trigger earthquakes (ie very weak correlation), but that is not what gives them their magnitude. This is just a tiny factor (the straw that breaks the camel’s back) – less than a thousandth of the force in a big quake. If the phase of the moon is right then it might cause the earthquake to happen a day or two sooner than if it was a different phase.
However that knowledge is pretty useless to us. It does allow us to predict when earthquakes are very slightly more likely. It does not allow us to predict earthquakes.
If we knew, say, that earthquakes are 5% more likely at the full moon that would not help us. Most earthquakes would still not happen at full moon and it would be pointless trying to evacuate cities every full moon.
We see coincidences when we look for them and ignore other information. Sure, Chile’s 8.8 was at a full moon, but none of the Christchurch quakes – nor today’s M7.2 quake off Japan.
Random coincidences are not at all curious. If I throw dice twenty times each day and observe that I always throw a 6 on Friday that is hardly curious since (a) I also throw 6 on other days and (b) I also throw non-6s on other days.
To make these observations at all useful you need to base them on a solid statistical foundation. eg.take a few hundred randomly selected earthquakes and plot them against phase of the moon.
March 9th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
Charles,
We’ll just have to agree to disagree for now. If major earthquakes cease appearing during the full or new moon, then the averages have regressed towards the mean, and I will grant you your point. If they continue, then we have a different situation going on. We can revisit this a year from now and see what happened.
An interesting story appeared about a March 19 super moon, and how it may cause earthquakes. This article suggests there actually may be some weak link between the moon and earthquakes.
Will March 19 ‘Supermoon’ Trigger Natural Disasters?http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20110310/sc_space/willmarch19supermoontriggernaturaldisasters
From this article:
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.
Dave
March 11th, 2011 at 4:13 am
the moon lights my way in the earthquake?s day (27F).
the moon in this day are so beauty and big, and tinted by red
March 12th, 2011 at 3:56 am
Very interesting post. I am from Concepcion, Chile, where was the past 8.8 earthquake. And as it was at night i can tell that there was a full moon. Actually after several month there was another sism also with the full moon (i remember that day we saw the moon and thoght oh probably there would be another one this night and that was like that. Recetly there was another one for the anyversary of the past earthquake (6.6 February 27 – i am not sure about the moon. My point is that the Full Moon condition is only one varable of the multyfactorial equasion. I have read a study that the solar explosions also relationate to the sismic activity. Guess what, on March 10 there was a solar exposion alert and the explosion was directed partially to the earth and also just few hour ago on March 11 there was another explosion. Well, mayby i am being paranoic but anyway i will take my precausions in case of another earthquake here in Chile :/. Please post your comments on this one.
March 12th, 2011 at 4:26 am
Hi Carlos,
Thanks for the notice on a March 11 flare. I’ll check it out. You survived the biggest earthquake of 2010, the Chile earthquake. But Chile was prepared. Now we have the Japan earthquake. Japan was prepared too, but how to prepare for an 8.9 quake? Chile is in the ring of fire, like Japan. Let us pray Chile does not get another earthquake like 2010 or now in Japan. With the sun firing up recently, who knows? Take care! And watch the skies.
Dave
March 12th, 2011 at 11:36 am
I read the links with interest. I think there are two major points covered. One is that the earthquakes that are occurring at the moment are of relevance and frequency that does not specifically coincide with perigee or new moon.
That does not mean that the moon does not have an effect or play a part. The current spate of quakes has been triggered by magma activity and coincidental volcanic eruptions.
In 2004 a major rupture to the tectonic plates occurred and five super volcanoes on the floor near Tasmania and Antarctic were discovered for the first as active.
Stress and movement of Earth crust for various reasons is now in motion as a process of change.
The ring of fire is not the only plate that is experiencing shifts. Volcanoes have recently impacted in Europe. This activity is physical indication that there is stress within Earth core and movement resulting in plumes or eruptions through the magma shell. The volcanoes are a way of releasing stress.
If we remember that inside the Earth our very existence depends on the inner magnetic core that harmonizes with Earth’s aura – the magnetic shield of our atmosphere – we can understand in simple terms how the polarized forces of two magnets come into play. If the magnetic core burned out or collapsed – we would become like Mars and unable to support an atmosphere.
The moon brings a third party into the relationship of our Mother Gaia inner and outer worlds. Its intervention affects the electromagnetic relationship. When it is closest to Earth the impact on the inside of Earth crust is strongest as the cosmic magnetic etheric shield of our atmosphere are thinnest. When in apogee, the effect is greatest to the outer layers and realms.
Further – there are quarters or points of ellipses when this is more likely to occur in the cosmic veil – they are the equinox and the solstices. So if you get a culmination of these natural occurrences within a similar time frame – then the pull and impact on magnetic energy will be more profound than in normal times.
This is how the moon effects the tides. Of course it will have impact with inner core. But as an event alone it does not cause it. Yet it is easy to demonstrate how ancients held knowledge of such events through astrology which was then the only astronomical science available.
What occurs in our earth crust now is not from the moon – and will continue to happen regardless of the lunar phases and aspects. Yet there is always an impact and predictability can be enhanced when one learns and assimilates Nature’s real arcane knowledge of our Mother Earth organism and becomes sensitive to her.
With Mother Earth already unsettled, all factors have potential for greater influence.
There were three volcanic eruptions that coincided with the Japan earthquake. One in Indonesia where we felt some hours before a very deep and long quake. We must know that a large full moon does not cause a quake. It does cause shifts in gravitational pull which in turn affect Earth Mother, the magnetic currents which in turn affect volcanic and crust movement, which in turn affects tides and in turn affects humans (who are primarily made of water) and their emotional balance. There is more water under the ocean floor than above. Imagine the same tidal pull that you see in the oceans above. We are all one organism in harmony or disharmony together. If we destroy above the earth – those things that aid balance to the way of cycles – such as the trees and botanic realms that feed oxygen and enable the waters of life to co-exist. If we suck the waters or plasma oil from beneath the surface – then eventually our Mother has to respond. She has to either correct herself or purge herself of the abuse of her person. This is the Goddess knowledge that ancients once held and those of sacred spirit – still do. It doesn’t conflict with modern science – in fact modern science is just catching up. They needed to. Unfortunately the progress of modern science is affected by modern greed – and the ideals of current society – which is not about sustainable care – but about being separate and apart from Mother Earth and each other. Every man to the top. Richest wins. But what will he win? A polluted toxic mess plummeted into an ice age and nuclear fall out. Congratulations.
March 12th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Hi Vivienne
Thanks for your interesting comments. If we treated the earth as if she were a living being, we’d treat her with more respect. Instead, we treat the earth as only an object for exploitation. Humanity needs the earth far more then the earth needs us!
Dave
March 18th, 2011 at 9:08 am
please tell the documentary’s name which came in NGC. I would like to watch it again.