• Question: how does the moon control the waves?

    Asked by Aimski to Jim on 9 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Jim Barrett

      Jim Barrett answered on 9 Mar 2016:


      It’s all down to gravity. The moon is really heavy, so the part of the ocean that is directly under the moon will ‘bulge’ out a bit, and as the moon moves along it drags water with it. That’s why tides go in approximately 28 day cycles, which is the orbit of the moon

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