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The lunar eclipse and the Indonesian earthquake?
Early this morning, a huge earthquakes occurred in Lombok, Indonesia. The earthquake was also particularly strong.
Just yesterday, a lunar eclipse occurred. It is also the longest lunar eclipse of the century.
Do you think there is a link between the earthquake and the lunar eclipse?
After all, the lunar eclipse was particularly long and the earthquake was particularly strong.
Well, as the moon came around, it could have pulled at the tectonic plate of Lombok and caused the quake. After all, geologists said the quake occurred near the surface.
12 Answers
- busterwasmycatLv 73 years agoFavorite Answer
One cannot rule out that possibility, but the eclipse would not be the cause but a symptom of other conditions which could be the cause. Eclipses occur when the moon-earth sun form a line, so there is maximum opposite pull from moon and sun on earth. That could help an earthquake happen (by lowering compression and thus friction along the two sides of the fault), although there is very little evidence that it ever actually does. There is no broad correlation between moon position and earthquake activity, and there would be, even if weakly correlated, if the position of the moon was a factor of any importance.
Sometimes coincidences are just that.
- Tom SLv 73 years ago
Not so much the eclipse, but the full Moon effects tides, tides are in the crust as well as the oceans. It will not "cause" an earthquake but if the tectonic stresses are building in an area it can be the trigger for a quake.
- TomLv 73 years ago
Well, LAND TIDES might serve as a TRIGGER for a fault area already under stress--at least sometimes. Remember the moon and sun are in line and the Land tides would be greatest then--especially if the moon lines up overhead or at 90 degrees.
- Atarah DerekLv 73 years ago
The spring tidal pull is not enough to affect earth's crust in such a way. It never has been. If it were, it wouldn't matter whether the moon is in shadow or not, its gravitational pull would be the same every time it was full or new. If anything, the moon coming the closest it gets to earth, and THAT happening on a full or new moon (particularly a new moon), MIGHT affect some especially loose crust. But it's extremely unlikely, and we almost certainly wouldn't notice it if it did happen.
- az_lenderLv 73 years ago
According to sciencenotes.org, the US Geological Survey has calculated that an eclipse (solar or lunar) approximately triples the probability of an earthquake. So you can ascribe the earthquake to the eclipse if you want to, but obviously many other factors are involved.
- Anonymous3 years ago
Lunar
- 3 years ago
Yes, the Earthquake caused the Lunar Eclipse.
Source(s): Banging head against the wall. - AmbistomaLv 73 years ago
It is true that tidal pulls are strongest when the sun & moon are aligned with or opposite each other, but that isn't known to correlate with earthquakes. The only exterior trigger I've read about is the monsoon season in India.
- NyxLv 73 years ago
One doesn't necessarily influence the other. Earthquakes, and volcanoes are quite common in Indonesia.
