How Do Stars Influence the Tides on Earth?

Stars influence the tides on Earth by pulling and pushing the ocean like a giant, invisible hand.

The moon is like a big friend who plays tug-of-war with the oceans every day. When it’s close to Earth, it pulls the water up, making a high tide, and when it moves away, it leaves behind a low tide.

While the moon does most of the work, the stars, especially our sun, also help. They’re like other friends who join in the game sometimes. When the sun and the moon line up with Earth, their pulls add up, making really big tides, called spring tides. But when they are at right angles to each other, their forces partly cancel out, giving us smaller tides, called neap tides.

It’s like having a team of friends pulling on the ocean, some days it's just the moon, and other days, the whole crew joins in!