When Mars is at its closest proximity to Earth does it affect our tides?

Answer 1

Only the Sun and Moon have any significant effect on our tides.

Compute the DIFFERENCE in gravitational force that an object exerts across the diameter of the Earth to find out how much of an impact it has on our tides.

Using Newton's laws to calculate gravitational forces, the difference across the Earth's diameter is proportional to M, the mass of the object in the sky, d, and r, the distance from the Earth's center.

#M(1/{(d-r)^2}-1/{(d+r)^2})#

Compared to everything else in the sky, including Mars at its closest approach, this is significantly larger for the Sun and Moon.

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Answer 2

Levi Alexander

Yes, Mars does have a small effect on Earth's tides when it is at its closest proximity. This is known as the Mars effect. However, the influence is significantly weaker compared to the gravitational pull of the Moon, which is the primary driver of Earth's tides.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.