Moon, Sun, Spring Tides, Neap Tides: A Moving Moon Affects Tides in Four Phases

The moon is out hanging over the night sky. It's magnetic pull changing the driving force of the tide waters against an ocean backdrop. The moon isn't the only influence over the ocean waters. The sun plays a role as a partner to the moon helping to weaken or strengthen and give rise to high or low tides. The sun and moon in correlation with the earth changes what happens in accordance with the ocean waters. It is by these phases that the determining factor for weak or strong and high or low tides can be marked.

While the sun appears to be sitting still the moon is constantly rotating around the earth and where it moves can directly effect the tides due to where the sun bounces off of it and by gravitational forces. The new moon brings in what is called the Spring Tides. When this happens' the sun, moon and the earth will line up in a straight line. Spring Tides are powerful and intense. If one was swimming in an ocean during the Spring Tides the waters could pull them out and away from the shore.

A week after the Spring Tides the moon will move perpendicular or directly to the right of the sun. It is the first quarter of the moon. The tides that are to be reckoned with in this stage are called Neap Tides. Neap Tides are the opposite of Spring Tides. They are feeble and non-powerful. They wouldn't have the strength to pull someone swimming in the ocean out and away from the shore.

Two weeks after the Spring Tides the moon will move into the equatorial plane of the earth from the perpendicular level it sat in correlation with the sun. This will make the earth sit in the middle between the sun and the moon. While this occurrence is rare when it happens one can expect four tides to occur in one day: two low tides and two high although there has been occurrences of only one tide. During this phase the moon will be full.

Three weeks after the Spring Tides the moon goes into its third quarter. The moon will sit perpendicular to the left of the sun. If at this time two low and two high tides are experienced a day then one of the low tides will be predominantly larger than the other low tide and one high tide will be predominantly larger than the other one.