Tonight is Supermoon Night

On this special astronomical night, the full moon will be at lunar perigee, the nearest approach in its orbit around Earth, but in this case, it will be at its closest proximity to us in 18 years, reports Life's Little Mysteries, Space.com's sister site.

With our neighboring satellite scheduled to light up the sky from only 221,567 miles away, some are wondering if its close proximity will cause any unexpected problems for us.

Tonight's full moon won't just be a regular full moon -- it'll be a supermoon. That means the moon will be at its closest approach to Earth in 18 years.

We all know, most likely from elementary school science or episodes of "Nova," that the moon's gravitational pull on our home planet affects the ocean tides. But with the upcoming extreme closeness of the moon, will any tide increases trigger other possible problems, like earthquakes?

"A lot of studies have been done on this kind of thing by USGS scientists and others," said John Bellini, a U.S Geological Survey geophysicist. "They haven't found anything significant at all."

And according to John Vidale a seismologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, we'll never notice anything different about tonight's lunar perigee. "It's somewhere between 'it has no effect' and 'it's so small you don't see any effect.'"

In case you prefer to plan your life according to the movements and positions of the moon, sun and planets, renowned astrologer Richard Nolle lays claim to the term "supermoon" on his Astropro website.

Nolle agrees with the majority of scientists that this evening's supermoon event isn't likely to be, literally, Earth-shattering.

"It won't be the case that all hell will break loose all over the world," he wrote.

"The worst that can happen, if the worst doesn't happen, is that you end up with a stock of fresh batteries and candles, some extra bottled water and canned goods, maybe a full tank of gas and an evacuation bag packed just in case."

At the very least, when the moon rises at sunset in the eastern sky, it'll probably produce a great photo op.

Credits: AOL News

Japan Hits by 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake and Tsunami | Tsunami is Expected to Hit at Pacific Nearby Countries

TOKYO – Japan says the death toll in a massive earthquake has risen to five. The quake unleashed a 13-foot (4-meter) tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland.

Fires triggered by Friday's quake are burning out of control up and down the coast, including one at an oil refinery.

The government has confirmed at least five deaths and there were reports of several injuries, including in Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the epicenter.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was a magnitude 8.9, while Japan's meteorological agency measured it at 8.8. It struck at 2:46 p.m. and was followed by more than a dozen aftershocks, including several at least 6.3, the size of the quake that struck New Zealand recently

Mean while, Tsunami alerts has been raised to nearby countries around the Pacific Ocean. Possible affected countries are doing some measures and procedural evacuation by the government to their area of responsibilities to secure the people from the alarming Tsunami that expected to come anytime. The Philippines, Guam, Hawaii, Taiwan and others are completely keeping an eye for the rise of Tsunami at their places.