Predicting Weather By The Moon - Xavier University Libraries

Earthquakes
ment north and south of the equator and its orbit around
the Earth. The word ‘triggered’ is used here because the
Moon may pass over a danger point many times until the
strain on a fault becomes too great, after which the fault
may give in one sudden movement.
Picture a molten mass with overlapping plates floating
on it. The tide beneath them moves and the plates are
jostled. Eventually a tear or gap in the plates forms. The
tectonic plates can only be moved about the planet by the
Moon’s orbit, for without a Moon there would no reason
for them to move. It is the only regular gravitational attraction
which can put steady pressure on such plates to
dislodge them.
One of the main danger times is when the Moon is
crossing the equator during the monthly declination cycle.
This is the time while the Moon is moving quickly between
the hemispheres. When the Moon is at the maximum 28°
declination, it will cross the equator twice each month at
about seven degrees in a day which gives considerable pull
on the planet. At minimum 18°‚ it crosses at about four
degrees in a day and the effect is less positive.
The other danger point is while the Moon is at either
of the maximum declination positions north and south of
the equator. The Moon is at those positions for about three
days and does place considerable strain on the tectonic
plates while there. It must be remembered that the Moon
is always on the move and a quake can happen at any time.
Perigee has a grander tide too. It spends half of its
8.85 year orbit over each hemisphere in its turn. Around
the end of year 1999 the Perigee started to leave the South-
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