SO IS THE UPCOMING 'SUPERMOON' TO BLAME FOR THE RECENT SPATE OF NATURAL DISASTERS?
The Japanese tsunami comes just days after the Internet was awash with warnings that the movement of the moon will trigger tidal waves, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
Some claim that on March 19 - a week tomorrow - the moon will be closer to Earth than at any time since 1992, just 221,567 miles away, and that its gravitational pull will bring chaos to Earth.
Astronomers have dismissed the claims, which centre on a phenomenon called the 'lunar perigee', as pure nonsense.
The moon's orbit around Earth is not a circle, but an eclipse. At its closest approach - the perigee - the moon appears brighter and larger in the sky. When it is furthest away - the apogee - it is smaller and dimmer.
A lunar perigee occurs once a month. However, next week's perigee coincides with a full moon - a combination of events that happen just once every two or three years.
Although it makes a good photo opportunity for astronomers, scientists say it has no impact on Earth.
Previous supermoons took place in 1955, 1974, 1992 and 2005 - all years that had extreme weather events, the supporters of the supermoon theory say.
The tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people in Indonesia happened two weeks before the January 2005 supermoon. And on Christmas Day 1974, Cyclone Tracy laid waste to Darwin, Australia.
But U.S. astrologer Richard Nolle, who coined the term 'supermoon' in 1979, is convinced that lunar perigees cause natural disasters on Earth.
He said the recent supermoon on February 18 helps explain the earthquake that struck New Zealand on February 22.
'Supermoons have a historical association with strong storms, very high tides, extreme tides and also earthquakes,' he told ABC radio this week.
'Supermoons are like eclipses. We have roughly five to six per year and so it can be very close to Earth but we don't have to have one at the maximum close approach to have a notable effect.'
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami warning was in effect for Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas.
A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and the U.S. state of Hawaii.
Meanwhile, UK airlines cancelled flights to Tokyo today.
A British Airways plane heading for Tokyo's Hareda airport had pushed back off the stand at Heathrow today when the airline decided it would not be leaving.
BA also cancelled its daily Heathrow service to Tokyo's Narita airport.
The quake struck at a depth of six miles (10 kilometres), about 80 miles (125 kilometres) off the eastern coast, the agency said.
The area is 240 miles (380 kilometre) northeast of Tokyo.
In downtown Tokyo, large buildings shook violently and workers poured into the street for safety.
TV footage showed a large building on fire and bellowing smoke in the Odaiba district of Tokyo.
In central Tokyo, trains were stopped and passengers walked along the tracks to platforms.
Footage on NHK from their Sendai office showed employees stumbling around and books and papers crashing from desks.
Several quakes had hit the same region in recent days, including a 7.3 magnitude one on Wednesday.
Thirty minutes after the quake, tall buildings were still swaying in Tokyo and mobile phone networks were not working. Japan's Coast Guard has set up task force and officials are standing by for emergency contingencies, Coast Guard official Yosuke Oi said.
'I'm afraid we'll soon find out about damages, since the quake was so strong,' he said.
Injured people are attended to by emergency personnel after an earthquake in downtown Tokyo
A mother and child crouch on a street in Tokyo while black smoke raises from a building in Tokyo's waterfront
Panic buying: Hundreds of Oahu residents flocked to to purchase water and supplies after warnings the tsunami could reach Hawaii
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater and on average, an earthquake occurs every 5 minutes.
But Friday's quake, coming a few weeks after New Zealand's city of Christchurch was devastated by a strong earthquake, was petrifying.
'I was terrified and I'm still frightened,' said Hidekatsu Hata, 36, manager of a Chinese noodle restaurant in Tokyo's Akasaka area. 'I've never experienced such a big quake before.'
WHY DID THE EARTHQUAKE STRIKE JAPAN?
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas.
The country accounts for about 20 per cent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
Several continental and oceanic plates meet in the Japan area, which is why there are so many volcanoes and hot springs across the nation.
Located in a volcanic zone so active it is nicknamed the Pacific Ring of Fire, catastrophic earthquakes occur several times each century.
Japan has suffered an estimated 200 recorded tsunamis in its history due to earthquakes that take place below or close to the Pacific Ocean.
In October 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck the Niigata region in northern Japan, killing 65 people and injuring more than 3,000.
That was the deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 tremor hit the city of Kobe in 1995, killing more than 6,400.
Courtesy : Daily Mail, UK
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