Tugging at the tides

Some people think the moon always hangs out in the night sky, but it doesn't.

It cycles.

Tuesday's moon, for example, was new. We can't see the moon at all during this phase for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the new moon rises at sunrise; it's in the sky when the sun is, and it's very close to it.

The other reason is location. The new moon phase happens when the moon and sun are in conjunction. During this time, the moon is not reflecting sunlight towards the Earth. Now, that's not a bad thing: it's the best time to stargaze because there is no light pollution from the moon, but I digress.

Even when you can't see the moon, its influence on our planet is significant.

The gravitational force exerted by the sun and the moon causes the tides in the Earth's bodies of water. Tides are the rise and fall of ocean water. Water levels rise to their highest point of the day and fall to their lowest point every 12.5 hours.

Proximity to the Earth means the moon is the predominant factor in determining the Earth's tides because the moon exerts greater immediate gravitational shifts. The height of the average solar tide is about 50 per cent of the average lunar tide.

The Earth, moon and sun line up twice a month — once during the new moon and again during the full moon phase. When this occurs, the lunar and solar tides reinforce each other, leading to more extreme tides, called spring tides.

Contrary to popular belief, spring tides have nothing to do with the season. When lunar and solar tides act against each other, the result is unusually small tides, called neap tides.

Today, the moon is two days old — a waxing crescent moon. During this phase, the moon rises between sunrise and noon and sets between sunset and midnight.

There’s not much left for me to say except to thank Phil Vogler for these dramatic spring tide photos. Low and high tide in Harbourville on Monday, just hours before Tuesday’s new moon.