Ask an Explainer

The Sun’s tidal effect is smaller than the Moon’s because the Sun is so much further away. Distance is more important than mass when determining tidal effects.

The strength of the tidal effect is based on the inverse square law of gravity, GM/r2, where G is the universal gravitation constant, M is the mass product of two objects, and r is the distance between them. The tidal effect is greatest when the distance between the two objects is small, such as the Earth and Moon. The tidal effect is weaker when the distance between the two objects is larger, such as the Earth and the Sun.