Humanity has been blame the full Moon for a lot of things for a very long metre . Modern datum psychoanalysis has punctured a plenty of these myths , including thetiming of birthsand hospitaladmissionsfor stroke . ( masses wrench into wolves still to be support ) . The latest association to be disproven is one between lunar phase and very large earthquakes . For honorable measure , the same survey has also found quakes are disordered with the time year too .
In the lighting of the influence the Moon has over the tides , it is not ridiculous to think its sombreness could be pull up on the Earth ’s crust enough to cause it to shake , or even that the excess weight of urine could actuate disturbancesbeneath the oceans .
Although the amount of light the Moon reflect onto the Earth is unlikely to be of import , tide are largerwhen the Moon and Sun are near each other in the sky , or almost directly opposite , as come about at new and full Moons respectively . Some studieshave claim to find oneself an association between lunar cycle and temblor frequency , butDr Susan Houghof the US Geological Survey noted the relationship was always so weak as to be highly suspect .
Hough examine the datum , cut back herself to events of magnitude 8 or larger on the Richter shell , a sample of 204 earthquake of 400 years . Her outcome have been put out inSeismological Research Letters . Although there were 16 temblor from this sample on the seventh twenty-four hours after a novel Moon , Hough key prime such as this as “ No unlike from the kinds of patterns you would get if the data are completely random . ” She alsonoted : “ The lunar tides would be at a minimum at this point , so it does n’t make any physical horse sense . "
Similarly , Hough found no leaning for very large earthquake to congregate on particular day of the twelvemonth .
Hough does not wait her work to transfer convinced judgement . She note that amateur earthquake predictors pelt Charles Richter , as the one well - known seismologist , with claims about the influence of the Moon . “ preferably or later there is extend to be another fully grown earthquake on a full moon , and the traditional knowledge will pop back up , " shesaid . Nevertheless , she hope studies like hers will give skeptics something to point to when the next undulation of such claims occurs .
The belief in the influence of the Moon is so far-flung and so easy to try out , there is an abundance of studies on the subject . In some cases , an association has been found . You ’re morelikely to be muggedon a moony night than a glum one , for example , but physical effects outside the sea are hard to find .
