A rare planetary alignment occurred on March 10, 1982, generating significant public interest and anxiety, due to predictions in the book "The Jupiter Effect", claiming the combined gravitational pull would have catastrophic effects on earth. The planetary alignment was a loose grouping rather than a tight lineup. with negligible effect.
The book , "The Jupiter Effect", by John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann suggested that the alignment of all nine planets on one side of the Sun would create a significant gravitational pull, causing the combined gravitational pull would trigger catastrophic earthquakes, solar flares, and global disasters. However it proved to be harmless, a lesson in distinguishing scientific possibility from sensationalized prediction.
