NATS 1560 Lecture 6: Moon- notes
8 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
Moon and earth gravity: tides earth"s tides are caused by interaction with the moon"s gravitation. The moon"s gravity causes a bulge in the water, and earth rotates through this bulge so tides rise and fall twice a day. Earth and moon are a system which influence each other. Gravity depends on distance: during the full and new moon the moon and sun align, so the tides are very high (spring tides) as their gravities combine. The moon, sun and earth are in line. Sun pulling one way and moon pulling the other. Least variation, high tides and low tides are much closer together. Larger bodies interacting, gravity pulls and causes bulges. Tidal forces: this notion of tidal forces is very important. The strength of a gravitational field is dependent on distance. If the moon got too close to earth it would be torn apart by this tidal effect of gravity.
