Earth may rock, but sun and moon aren’t to blame

Today’s question: It seems to me that most earthquakes happen when it is dark. Am I crazy or is there a basis for this notion? Maybe the sun on the other side of the earth pulls on the tectonic plates? I also wonder if the moon affects earthquakes? It certainly affects tides. Don't the sun and moon have something to do with the frequency of earthquakes? No, that’s not it. As we all know, earthquakes are caused by a gigantic catfish named Namazu that lives at the center of Earth.

At least that’s what people in ancient Japan believed.

Or maybe quakes are caused by the turtle upon which the world rests. When the turtle shifts to get more comfortable the earth quakes. That’s what the Algonquin Indians believed.

Most other cultures attributed earthquakes to gods who were angry or in some cases just out taking a stroll.

Those explanations are, of course, nonsense but so is the idea that the sun or moon have anything to do with earthquakes.

Earthquakes can occur at any time of the day or night. Some are so small they are not even felt without sophisticated detection.

Earthquakes that strike at night are naturally more likely to take a human toll because more people are indoors.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there is a very small probability that shallow earthquakes might be affected by the gravitational pull of a full moon or new moon, but that probability is really too small to be significant.