Neap and spring tides. Illustration showing the Sun (yellow) and Moon (grey) alignments that produce neap (top) and spring (centre and bottom) tides (blue) on Earth. Tidal effects act to stretch a spherical body into an ovoid shape along the line connecting the centre of the two celestial bodies. Despite the Sun's greater distance, its large mass means that its tidal force on the Earth is about half that of the Moon, and so the Sun appreciably affects the tides. At first and third quarter, the Sun and Moon oppose each other to produce the lower-amplitude neap tides. At new and full Moon, they combine for the higher-amplitude spring tides. | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / TIM BROWN |
Bildgröße: | 3543 px × 4943 px |
Modell-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Eigentums-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Restrictions: | - |