Dutch seismologist Frank Hoogbeets on Saturday evening published an image illustrating the alignment of several planets — Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter — alongside the Earth, Sun and Moon, noting that the configuration represents the planetary alignment visible in space on Sunday, January 18.
In a separate post on his social media platforms, Hoogbeets went further to predict the possibility of a major earthquake reaching magnitude 8 on the Richter scale, identifying a specific country as being at risk.
Despite sustained criticism from geologists and astronomers, Hoogbeets continues to promote his theory linking planetary movements and their geometric alignment with seismic activity on Earth. He refers to this concept as “planetary geometry,” claiming it influences earthquakes worldwide, according to Al-Arabiya.net.
In his initial post, Hoogbeets highlighted several planetary conjunctions using different colors, marking some in red to indicate what he described as potentially dangerous alignments. Among those cited were configurations involving Earth, Mercury and Mars, as well as Mercury, the Sun and Jupiter, which he claims could increase seismic risk.
In a follow-up post, Hoogbeets suggested that Peru’s coastal region could experience a powerful earthquake in the near term, potentially reaching magnitude 8. He added that strong earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher in recent years have been concentrated in South America, particularly near Peru and Ecuador, leading to what he described as mounting tectonic pressure along the coast.
However, the scientific community has widely rejected Hoogbeets’ theories, stressing that there is no scientifically proven link between planetary alignments and earthquakes. Seismologists and astronomers maintain that seismic activity is driven by tectonic plate movements, and that any correlation with planetary positions is unsubstantiated and considered scientifically implausible.
