What motion is responsible for the moon rising in the east and setting in the west?
The rotation of the Earth. All heavenly bodies (stars, sun, moon, etc.) appear to rise in the east and set in the west because of the Earth’s rotation. This doesn’t mean that they are actually moving that way. All bodies are stationary for this purpose. The only factor that causes this apparent movement is the Earth’s rotation. The tides of the Earth are caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon on the Earth. The physics can be explained through the gravitational attraction which makes the water gather at the point on the earth closest to the moon. Thus, all water flows towards this area creating a bulge. As the Earth rotates, different locations pass through this point, and experience high tide. Hope this helps!
