Moon and Earth closest encounter in 19 years

ASTANA. March 10. KAZINFORM The moon is about to witness its closest encounter with the Earth since 1992 on March 19 this year, according to a report on Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site of SPACE.com. Kazinform refers to China Daily.

The two planets will be just 356,577 kilometers (221,567 miles) apart, leading one astrologer to predict the so-called "extreme super moon" may inflict earthquakes and volcanoes

The report lists previous "extreme super moons" in 1955, 1974, 1992 and 2005 when extreme weather events happened more frequently.

But one expert with International Center for Radio Astronomy Research, Pete Wheeler disagreed, arguing that the Earth would only get a higher flow and lower ebb, but nothing extraordinary when the moon is closest to the Earth.

Australian astronomer David Reneke agreed with Pete Wheeler, saying that "skeptics will always find reasons to relate groundless near the Moon theories with natural disasters." Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn