Orbit of the Moon attraction that the Moon exerts on Earth is the cause of tides in the sea; the Sun has a smaller tidal influence. If Earth had a global ocean of uniform depth, the Moon would act to deform both the solid Earth (by a small amount) and the ocean in the shape of an ellipsoid with the high points roughly beneath the Moon and on the opposite side of Earth. However, because of the presence of the continents, Earth's much faster rotation and varying ocean depths, this simplistic visualisation does not happen. Although the tidal flow period is generally synchronized to
Sun and Moon (Middle-earth) Sun. In the universe of Middle-earth, the Sun is generally regarded as feminine, in recognition of Arien. This gender corresponds with Sól (Sun), the personified in Germanic mythology. The Maia Tilion was chosen to guide the vessel of the Moon. Names of the Moon amongst the Elves included Isil or "The Sheen", a name given to it by the Vanyar; Ithil, the common name for the Moon in Sindarin, as seen in "Minas Ithil" (later Minas Morgul) and the Gondorian province of Ithilien; and Rána, or "The Wayward", a name given to the Moon by the Noldor. A poetic name