I had the idea for this visualization while looking at a tide chart last spring as I was trying to make a spontaneous crossing to a tidebound island. That day, I ended up not having enough time to cross.

As we know, the regular rise and fall of sea levels are caused primarily by the gravitational pull of the moon and, to a lesser extent, the sun. The moon’s gravity exerts a force on Earth, pulling water towards it. This pull creates a bulge in the ocean, resulting in high tide.

Interestingly, the moon’s phases also impact the strength of the tides. During a full moon and new moon, the sun, moon, and Earth align, leading to what are known as “spring tides.” These tides are characterized by higher high tides and lower low tides, resulting in a more significant difference between high and low water levels.

However, when you look at the line in a tide chart, it can hardly make you think about the moon or its current phase. This visualization is an attempt to show the gravitational force of the moon orchestrating the rhythmic dance of the tides—an alternate way to see our very distant neighbor relating to us in our everyday lives.

Check it out here. Fullscreen recommended! 🌝

This was made with PixiJS. I drew each individual moon phase with a cutout, varying the radius of each moon phase according to a fictional “tide level.” You can find the source code here.🌚

This small visual project is the first in a series (at least I hope it will be!) under the umbrella of experiments that I now call “Visual Catalog”. Several years after SensePi, I wanted to continue doing similar experiments. Not being quite sure of where this is going is part of the destination, and I expect it to lead me through several rounds of short explorations in a similar vein.