10 FAQs about Lunar Tides (The Astronomy Cafe)

Basic Facts: Elementary Primer,Bad Astronomy

Physics of Tides: by Dr. James Williams (PDF format)

Lunar tides and Earthquakes: Scientific Study

 Back to the Astronomy Cafe - 365 of the most popular questions since 1996. Over 1 million page requests!

Beginner

  1. Why are there no ocean tides at the equator?
  2. Why are ocean tides so different everywhere?
  3. If the Moon were to escape, what would happen to the earth's oceans?
  4. Why does the Moon produce TWO water tides on the earth and not just one?
  5. When will the Proxigean Tides arrive between 1999-2020?
  6. What is a Proxigean Spring Tide?

    7. Advanced

  7. Exactly how did the Earth and Moon get locked into synchrony?
  8. How is it that the Sun tide is 46 percent of the Moon tide?
  9. Exactly how does tidal friction cause the lunar orbit to change?
  10. How do you calculate the magnitude of the lunar tidal bulge?

 

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