Leonard James

Hi Swansont,

Many thanks for that. I'm afraid it's too complicated for me to get my head round ... so I shall just take it as read.

Hi all,

I'm new here and hope this question is posted on the correct forum.

Can somebody explain to me why spring tides occur at full moon? I realise that at new moon the sun and moon are pulling in the same direction and thus cause a spring tide, but at full moon the two gravitational forces are directly opposed, and should affect one another negatively.

I'm not a scientist, so would appreciate the explanation in layman's language.

Many thanks.

Leonard.