Is it possible the most famous shipwreck of recent history was due to an astrological phenomenon?
Next month will mark 100 years since the Titanic struck a giant iceberg and sank in April of 1912, and scientists have a new theory of why the tragedy occurred.
The full moon a few months before, on Jan. 4, 1912, might have created unusually strong tides that pulled a bunch of icebergs south, according to Astronomers Texas State University. That particular full moon was actually a rare supermoon—which is when the moon is at its closest to earth—and the alignment of the moon and sun on opposite sides of earth created extra high and low tides.
Astronomers think the resulting so-called spring tides could have dislodged beached icebergs from the coasts of Canada’s Labrador and Newfoundland, pulling them into the Titanic’s path and making 1912 one of the worst seasons for icebergs on record.
Somebody call James Cameron and Leo DiCaprio—it’s time for a sequel.