The Causes of Earthquakes Being Worse Than Moonquakes

The reasons why earthquakes are more destructive than moonquakes are discussed in this article. It explores the fundamental structural differences between the Earth and the Moon and talks about what causes earthquakes to be more devastating. By the article's conclusion, readers will have a better knowledge of the causes of earthquakes and how they differ from moonquakes.

Seismic activity is a component of both natural events such as earthquakes and moonquakes. However, compared to moonquakes, earthquakes typically cause much more damage. While there are quakes on the moon, they are far less frequent and weaker than those on Earth. The underlying differences between the architecture of the Earth and the Moon, as well as the different elements that affect how severe earthquakes are, are to blame for this gap. This article will examine the reasons why some earthquakes are worse than moonquakes in order to provide readers with a better grasp of the mechanics underlying these seismic occurrences.

You step onto the moon's surface; It's unusual. You notice that it's lighter here and that walking is easier. You decide to test out that crazy idea. You jump onto Earth's natural satellite. However, despite your bulky spacesuit, you literally fly up into the air. Nonetheless, you continue your walk on the moon's surface when you notice something peculiar. The ground is shaking. It feels as if an earthquake has just started on the moon, but that's not the case.

There are four different types of moonquakes that are powerful enough to be felt from a great distance, including deep moonquakes that occur more than 430 miles beneath the surface and meteoroid impacts. There are also shallow moonquakes, which are the only ones that are similar to earthquakes on our planet and that happen 12 to 19 miles below the surface. Between 1972 and 1977, the Apollo's seismic network recorded 28 such moonquakes, some of which were among the most powerful and dangerous ever recorded.

Thermospheres occur when the frozen lunar crust expands. They happen when the morning sun illuminates the satellite after a two-week-long deep-freeze lunar night.

Scientists are still unsure of what causes shallow moonquakes and even where they exactly occur. One theory is that moonquakes occur at the rims of large, relatively young craters that likely slump occasionally.

Interestingly, the Moon and Earth aren't the only places in our solar system where earthquakes occur. Quakes, tremors, vibrations, and shakes have also been recorded there. Take Mercury, for example. This world is a tectonic puzzle for experts right now. Venus has no tectonic plates and may never have had them, but its surface has folds and faults and appears to have tectonic plates. However, these features may have formed as a result of other processes, such as volcanic activity. Despite the fact that no Venus earthquakes have been seen, scientists believe they could detect them because their vibration seems to ripple through the thick atmosphere.

In 2019, NASA's Lander installed a seismometer on the surface of Mars, where it was able to record its first earthquake. After that, the Lander continued to record earthquakes, but they were so weak that, if they occurred on Earth, the ocean's background noise would completely drown them out. However, a space body doesn't need to be a full-fledged planet to have active tectonics.

Let's take Pluto, a dwarf planet that is currently geologically active. In 2014, NASA's New Horizons probe was passing through the Pluto system when it recorded complicated geological features, leading scientists to speculate that Pluto may have earthquakes.

Jupiter's moons Europa and IO, as well as Saturn's moons Titan and Ensettalus, are also geologically active despite their small size; their features range from volcanoes and water plumes to possible subsurface oceans.

If you didn't know these interesting facts about earthquakes that occur on our planet, there's one place on Earth where a whopping 90% of all earthquakes occur. There are over 500,000 earthquakes on Earth each year, but many of them are so deep in the earth's crust that only specialized technology can detect them. We experience about 20 percent of earthquakes, but only 100 of them can be destructive.

The largest recorded earthquake occurred in Chile in May 1960. It had a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale. It was truly devastating. During that earthquake, seismographs detected and recorded seismic waves that traveled all over the world. They shook the planet for many days. As for the most powerful earthquake that occurred in the U.S., it was a magnitude 9.2 and happened in Alaska. By the way, Alaska, along with California, is the most earthquake prone state in the U.S. and one of the most seismically active regions in the world.

A magnitude 7 earthquake occurs there almost every year. A mega-earthquake can actually shorten the length of a day for the entire planet. NASA claims that really large earthquakes can shift our planet's axis and thus change the duration of a day. Of course, you won't notice it since this change is measured in microseconds, and since a microsecond is one millionth of a second, scientists think that the 9.1 Sumatra earthquake that occurred in 2004 shortened the day by 6.8 microseconds.

Since the mechanisms that cause earthquakes are located very deep underground, specialists can predict earthquakes, but people can now determine an earthquake's likely time of occurrence with greater accuracy.

Although volcanic eruptions or, say, meteor impacts can cause earthquakes, the tectonic plate movement of our planet is what causes the majority of them. There are 15 to 20 tectonic plates on the surface of Earth that are constantly shifting under pressure, which can cause our planet's crust to split.

Since the San Andreas fault, a continental fault extending 750 miles through California, is slipping past each other, San Francisco is currently moving toward Los Angeles at a rate of about two inches per year, which is about as fast as your fingernails grow. In a few million years, Los Angeles and San Francisco will be neighbors as lakes, ponds, and canals become slightly warmer and begin to stink.

Most animals feel these signs and change their behavior. For example, scientists noted toads completely disappearing before an earthquake in Italy in 2009, but as soon as the natural disaster was over, they returned. Even after an earthquake is over, you might still see water sloshing around in your swimming pool. There's no need to worry; this is a phenomenon called a surge. The water can keep sloshing around for hours after the earthquake is over. For instance, a 1200 mile away earthquake in Mexico caused a surge that resulted in some water loss in the pool at the University of Arizona.

On February 27, 2010, a massive earthquake started in Chile. It measured 8.8 on the Richter Scale, and as a result, the earth's crust in that region was ripped so dramatically that a city called Concepcion moved 10 feet to the west. Another earthquake resulted in the tallest mountain in the world, Everest, shrinking by one inch. It happened in 2015, when a magnitude 7.5 earthquake caused several Himalayan mountains to decrease in size.

The Japanese once believed that the enormous catfish known as namazu, which lived submerged in the mud beneath the Japanese Islands, was to blame for earthquakes. The fish would thrash about, causing seismic activity. As for the ancient Greeks, they were sure that a powerful sea deity, Poseidon, produced earthquakes by hitting his trident against the earth when he was angry, according to Hindu mythology. Every time one of these creatures moves, an earthquake happens because eight elephants are holding Earth in place; they are each poised on the back of a gigantic turtle, which is itself perched on the coils of an even larger snake.

Finally, there are a number of reasons why earthquakes are worse than moonquakes. Both the different factors that affect how severe earthquakes are and the underlying differences between the architecture of the Earth and the Moon are important. Active tectonic plates on the surface of the Earth constantly move and collide, creating a volatile environment that is vulnerable to earthquakes.

Additionally, the Earth's atmosphere and oceans can amplify seismic waves, resulting in significant damage. In contrast, the Moon's seismic activity is primarily a result of its cooling and shrinking interior, which lacks the complex processes that contribute to earthquakes' destructive force on Earth. While both earthquakes and moonquakes can be amazing and fascinating occurrences, knowing why they differ from one another can help us better prepare for and lessen the effects of these natural occurrences.