The Super Moon drives people mad

Last week"s events of Japan have dramatically shifted people"s perception of the phenomenon that will take place at the end of this week. On Saturday, the Earth will be the closest to the Moon it has been in the last 20 years, at a distance of just 356,578 kilometers.

The average distance between the Moon and the Earth is approximately 384,400 kilometers. Whereas one month ago, this information would not generate much of a reaction, an increasing number of people are now interested in the potential consequences of this fact and in the scenarios of the experts. It"s true however that the number of impostors that deliver all kinds of lies, piggybacking on scientific data that they mix with their own interpretations has increased dramatically. The most frightening story, but also the least plausible, published by several American blogs, speaks of a total "disruption" of Moon, which would eventually fall to Earth. Discussing the effects of such an event would be superfluous. There are also messages that attempt to ease the worries of the citizens of Earth, claiming that there is no way a planetary apocalypse would take place on March 19th, some resorting to tragicomical reasons why this is the case: there is no way the end of the world would happen now, because it is scheduled for next year, as predicted by the Mayan Calendar, or because the apocalypse has already happened.

According to scientists, one thing is certain, on the night of March 19th the tides will be much higher, because the seas and oceans are attracted by the gravity of the moon. This also happened at the last perigees of the Moon (1955, 1974, 1992). There is also the possibility of extreme natural phenomenon occurring: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, but no one can accurately how intense they would be. One of the Romanian authorities on the matter, Gheorghe Mărmureanu, the head of the National Institute for the Geophysics, has denied the rumors that the Moon reaching its perigee could cause a major earthquake in the Vrancea area, claiming that we have nothing of the kind to worry about over the next few years.

On the other hand, a group of Russian experts of the M. V. Lomonosov University of Moscow have tied the earthquake of Japan to the phenomenon that the Moon is currently going through, also known as the Super Moon. Thus, because of the increased pull of the Moon, the Earth sees a slight elongation, which causes massive movements of its shell, which leads to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Aside from these natural phenomena, doctors also claim that the Moon can directly affect human health. According to studies, 80% of the mental health experts are convinced that the phases of the Moon affect human behavior. The perigee of the Moon can cause nervousness, irritability, aggression and insomnia.

Thus, at the end of this week, many people may experience such unpleasant symptoms. This seems to be the worst that could happen on March 19th, 2011.