Tide Experiment

Open an interactive Moon-and-Sun tide simulator. Move the Moon and Sun around Earth to see why coastlines usually experience two high tides and two low tides each day.

• The Moon is the main driver of Earth tides.
• The Sun also contributes, creating stronger spring tides when the Sun, Moon and Earth line up.
• This route opens the Moon scene and launches the tide experiment directly.
• The Moon: The Moon follows a slightly elliptical orbit around Earth at an average distance of about 384,400 km, completing one sidereal orbit every 27.32 days. Its rotation period matches its orbital period, so the same hemisphere generally faces Earth; because Earth also moves around the Sun, identical lunar phases recur about every 29.5 days.