Supermoon: End of life as we know it?

MANILA, Philippines - Last night’s supermoon was expected to trigger the end of life as we know it – in an explosion of earthquakes, killer plagues and volcanic eruptions – according to ancient legends, Britain’s Daily Express reported.

Lunar activity is said to mark the end of time, with some religious groups believing it to be a sign of judgment day.

The phenomenon occurs when the moon’s path of orbit leads it to sweep unusually close to Earth, causing tides to rise and the crust of the planet to shift.

Such events have been linked to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and devastating tidal waves including the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004.

An earthquake ripped open the ground beneath Indonesia before a supermoon, officially called a perigee moon, appeared on Jan. 10, 2005. It was followed by a devastating tsunami.

Last night, the moon traveled 863 miles closer to Earth than normal, just 221,765 miles away. It appeared 16 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual the Daily Express said.

The newspaper quoted Tom Kerss, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, as saying there have been three supermoons so far this year – two in January and one in July.

If ancient prophecies don’t come true and the world doesn’t end on Sunday, there will be another next month, he added.

However many believe the supermoon is an omen of a terrible event and even the end of the world.

Pastor John Hagee, author of the controversial book Four Blood Moons, maintains messages in the Bible say God “does actively control the sun, the moon and the stars in order to speak to us.”

He said unusual lunar patterns are a signal “that something is about to happen that will change the course of history.”

Last night’s supermoon will be followed by an annual Perseid meteor shower this week. Around 100 meteors per hour appear as debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle hits the Earth’s atmosphere and burns up.