The Jupiter Effect
Bestseller: March 1982 Alignment Will Trigger the Quake That Wipes Out Los Angeles
The Jupiter Effect said lined-up planets would set off a chain of cosmic events ending on the San Andreas fault. Los Angeles is still there.
What was claimed (paraphrase)
An alignment of the major planets on the same side of the Sun in March 1982 would trigger a series of cosmic events, culminating in an earthquake along the San Andreas fault that would wipe out Los Angeles. (Smithsonian's summary.)
— John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann, authors of 'The Jupiter Effect' · said 1974 · due March 1982
March 1982 passed without the big one. Los Angeles was not wiped out.
The Story
Seismologist Charles Richter of Caltech called the thesis 'pure astrology in disguise' (Smithsonian). Wikipedia's list gives March 10, 1982 as the alignment date.
Smithsonian notes the book carried extra credibility 'since both authors were Cambridge-educated astrophysicists and Gribbin was an editor at the prestigious science journal Nature.' One year after the non-event the pair published The Jupiter Effect Reconsidered, which 'was also a best seller.'
Later spin
A year after the non-event, Gribbin and Plagemann published The Jupiter Effect Reconsidered. It was also a best-seller (Smithsonian).
Receipts
- Ten Notable Apocalypses That (Obviously) Didn't Happen - Smithsonian Magazineaccessed 2026-09-29
- List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events - Wikipediaaccessed 2026-09-29
As of Oct 9, 2026
since it didn't happen
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