Earth tide Earth tide Earth tide (also known as solid Earth tide, crustal tide, body tide, bodily tide or land tide) is the displacement of the solid earth's surface caused by the gravity of the Moon and Sun. Its main component has meter-level amplitude at periods of about 12 hours and longer. The largest body tide constituents are semi-diurnal, but there are also significant diurnal, semi-annual, and fortnightly contributions. Though the gravitational forcing causing earth tides and ocean tides is the same, the responses are quite different. The larger of the periodic gravitational forces is from the Moon but that of the
Orbit of the Moon rearward loops in the Moon's solar orbit. Considering the Earth–Moon system as a binary planet, its centre of gravity is within Earth, about or 72.6% of the Earth's radius from the centre of the Earth. This centre of gravity remains on the line between the centres of the Earth and Moon as the Earth completes its diurnal rotation. The path of the Earth–Moon system in its solar orbit is defined as the movement of this mutual centre of gravity around the sun. Consequently, Earth's centre veers inside and outside the solar orbital path during each synodic month as the Moon