The moon's gravitational pull is the primary driver of tides on Earth. The moon's gravity exerts a stronger pull on the side of the Earth facing it, causing the water in the oceans to bulge out towards the moon. This creates a high tide on the side of the Earth closest to the moon.

On the opposite side of the Earth, the water also bulges out away from the moon, creating another high tide. This is because the moon's gravity is still pulling on the Earth, but the force is weaker because the Earth is further away.

The Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, so the different parts of the Earth move through the moon's gravitational field. This causes the tides to rise and recede twice a day.

The moon's orbit around the Earth is not a perfect circle, but an ellipse. This means that the distance between the Earth and the moon varies throughout the month. When the moon is closest to the Earth (perigee), the tides are higher. When the moon is furthest from the Earth (apogee), the tides are lower.

The sun's gravity also has an effect on the tides, but its influence is much smaller than that of the moon. The sun's gravity causes the tides to rise and recede by about one-third the amount that the moon's gravity does.

The combined gravitational effects of the moon and the sun create the tides that we experience on Earth.