moonquake n.
seismic activity on the surface of the Moon or (broadly) of any moon
Science
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1847 Judy (vol. 1) 129/1
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His Lordship discovered a monstrous eruption on the chief promontory in the Moon…. He observed likewise an unsteadiness in the whole, a sort of reeling as if the orb was agitated by a moonquake.
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1848 The Count I. xviii. 296
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We felt a sudden tremulous motion, which seemed at least, to threaten us with a Moonquake; or some other equally unusual phenomenon in our altitude.
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1896
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Some time before morning we were roused by a violent shaking of the ground beneath us, which startles us beyond expression. ‘What’s that?’ I exclaimed. ‘That feels very much like a moonquake,’ replied my companion.
Daybreak 25 -
1928
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Earl Leaston Bell
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The moonquake will be of indeterminable duration, and it is then that our fate will hang in the balance. The severity of the shocks will about dislodge the mountains, and it is almost certain that the undermined parts of the ranges will cave in.
Moon of Doom in Amazing Stories Quarterly Winter 41/1 -
1940
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Nat Schachner
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Some pockets close to the surface got exposed. A moonquake, mebbe; a big meteor; or mebbe just plain erosion.
Runaway Cargo in Astounding Science-Fiction Oct. 94/1 -
1955
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Poul Anderson
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Some of the lead blocks in front of the reactor had slipped, perhaps in one of the frequent moonquakes caused by the tidal pull of Jupiter.
Snows of Ganymede in Startling Stories Winter 50/2 -
1970
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Isaac Asimov
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As a safety engineer…I can’t afford to believe in luck and breaks. We cannot stop Moonquakes or large meteorites out at Luna City but we are designed to minimize the effects even of those.
Waterclap in Worlds of If Apr. iii. 18/2 -
1996
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Astrid Julian
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A static discharge near one of the transmission lines from the nuclear generator has knocked out a relay somewhere. We haven’t figured out if a moonquake ripped a grounding cable loose or what.
Blowup in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction May 12 -
2009
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Brian Stableford
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He initiated a moonquake that blasted the doors from all the cells in which prisoners were held.
Great Armada in Asimov’s Science Fiction Apr.–May 44
Research requirements
antedating 1847
Last modified 2022-09-29 22:05:45
In the compilation of some
entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries
in OED.