Are tides due to the Sun or the Moon?

The gravitational force between the Earth and the Sun, and
the gravitational force between the Earth and Moon lead to the formation of tides. But
as the Moon is closer to the Earth, it has a larger influence on the formation of tides.
The gravitational pull of the Moon creates two bulges of water, one on the side of the
Earth facing the Moon, called the sub-lunar point, as the effect of the water getting
pulled towards it more than the effect of the land getting pulled. The reverse is true
on the other end called the anti-podal point, and again leads to the formation of a
bulge. This is the reason behind the occurrence of the high tides. The areas between the
sub-lunar points and the anti-podal points experience a low tide. Tides occur in a cycle
of approximately 12 hours 30 minutes.

The effects of the
Sun on the tides are apparent from the higher high tides and lower low tides once every
two weeks when the sun and the moon are aligned. These are called the Spring tides. When
the Sun and the Moon are at positions right angled to each other, it results in lower
high tides and higher low tides. These are called the Neap tides and occur at intervals
of 2 weeks between the spring tides.