The tides in some places on Earth are over 50 feet. If the gravity from Venus had a ten thousandth the affect of the Sun and Moon on a 50 foot tide it would make a difference of one twentieth of an inch. That could be significant. Does anyone study this?
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$\begingroup$ Because the gradient of gravity is what matters, the Moon will be more influential even if the magnitude of gravity from the Sun or Venus are higher $\endgroup$– Pizzaguy07Commented Oct 16, 2023 at 5:06
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1$\begingroup$ @Pizzaguy07 Please don't answer in comments. It's better for the site (and you) to write a proper answer as (a) it stops questions being marked as unanswered by the site software and (b) the reputation points you can gain from an answer are much larger than from a comment. $\endgroup$– StephenG - Help UkraineCommented Oct 16, 2023 at 6:39
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$\begingroup$ @StephenG-HelpUkraine I'm too lazy to answer. Besides, if I put that comment as an answer I will be downvoted for not giving enough explanation, regardless if what I say is true $\endgroup$– Pizzaguy07Commented Oct 16, 2023 at 13:32
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$\begingroup$ @Pizzaguy07 Comments are not persistent (the system can delete them anytime) whereas answers persist. $\endgroup$– StephenG - Help UkraineCommented Oct 16, 2023 at 15:33
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$\begingroup$ Earth’s tides are dominated by the combined effect of the Sun and the Moon’s gravitational pull. But the other planets, since they have a gravitational pull of their own, also have a small effect on the tides. Venus is the strongest because it happens to come closest to Earth. However, even at its maximum, its influence is 10,000 times less than that of the Sun and Moon together. Even the giant planet Jupiter exerts a force less than one-tenth that of Venus. $\endgroup$– Nilay GhoshCommented Oct 22, 2023 at 2:43
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1 Answer
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The strength of tidal forces scales as $\propto m/r^3$, so remote objects will have a far smaller effect than nearby ones (like the moon) unless they are very massive (like the sun).
Venus is about 100 times more distant than the moon, and 66.2 times heavier. So the tidal force will be $66.2/100^3 \approx 0.0000662$ of the lunar tidal force. So compared to the 50 foot tide this will produce a 3⁄64 inch tide.
Venus essentially adds a slowly varying factor to the solar tide, with a phase that shifts over its orbit.
Jupiter is 1634.53 times more distant at opposition and masses 25837 times the moon, making for just 0.000006 of the lunar tide, a tenth of Venus.
answered Oct 16, 2023 at 8:42