The Sun's surprisingly weak tidal power
The Sun is 27 million times more massive than the Moon, but it is also 390 times further away. Because tidal forces decrease with the cube of the distance, the Sun's tidal pull is only 46 percent as strong as the Moon's.
Chapter 1
The cosmic tug of war
Chapter 2
The Sun enters the dance
Chapter 3
Coastal shapes and local rhythms
Chapter 4
Tides and the web of life
Ch 2 · The Sun enters the dance
nic Despite its immense mass, the Sun's extreme distance makes its tidal force less than half that of the Moon.
Fun Fact
Leaping tides: The word 'spring' in spring tides comes from an Old English word meaning 'to leap,' not the season.
nic When the Sun and Moon are at right angles to Earth, their gravitational pulls partially cancel each other out.