Why Does the Moon Affect Tides?

The moon pulls the Earth’s water a little, making tides. When the moon is close, the pull is stronger, that's why we get bigger tides.

Imagine you're holding a bucket of water and shaking it gently. You'll see the water move around, like when waves form in a pond. The moon does something similar to the Earth’s oceans because it has gravity.

When the moon is directly above or below us, the tides are bigger. That's called a high tide. When it's at an angle, the pull is weaker, that's when we get low tides.