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Jul 11, 2024 · Almost completely concealed, the side of the moon that faces away from Earth is a constant source of curiosity. And while it inspires its fair share of conspiracies, it’s also credibly cited as a spot for looking for alien life, since it faces away from our steady stream of radio chatter.
Aug 28, 2012 · This means that although the Moon is rotating, it always keeps one face toward us. Known as “synchronous rotation,” this is why we only ever see the Moon’s nearside from Earth.
Oct 29, 2014 · For starters, the moon is not stuck in place with one side facing us. Our lunar companion rotates while it orbits Earth. It’s just that the amount of time it takes the moon to complete a revolution on its axis is the same it takes to circle our planet — about 27 days.
The near side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that always faces towards Earth, opposite to the far side. Only one side of the Moon is visible from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that the Moon orbits the Earth—a situation known as tidal locking.
- Overview
- Discover how the Moon's equal periods of rotation and revolution affect its orientation toward Earth
- Transcript
Discover how the Moon's equal periods of rotation and revolution affect its orientation toward Earth
Explanation of why only one side of the Moon faces Earth.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
•Discover how the Moon's equal periods of rotation and revolution affect its orientation toward Earth
•Watch a time-lapse video of a total lunar eclipse and learn how the Moon's orbit prevents monthly eclipses
•Learn more about the Nice model of solar system evolution and how samples brought back from the Moon fit within it
Ancient people rarely considered the Moon as anything more than a disc in the sky. The Moon itself always faced Earth the same way. So people came to regard the Moon as something flat, much like they thought of the Earth at that time, too.
If they did think the Moon was spherical, they often spoke of the side that faced away from the Earth as "the Dark Side of the Moon."
Neither view is true, of course. We know that the Moon is round like a ball, and we know that the Sun may shine on all sides of the Moon.
So the only part of the Moon that is truly dark, is the side that’s aimed away from the Sun at any given time.
But the Moon "faces" the Earth more or less the same way all the time. How is that so?
The period of the Moon’s rotation is the same as the period of its revolution about the Earth. At the time of the full moon, the Sun is shining full on the face we always see.
- 1 min
The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth, opposite to the near side, because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. Compared to the near side, the far side's terrain is rugged, with a multitude of impact craters and relatively few flat and dark lunar maria ("seas"), giving it an appearance closer ...
Discover the reasons behind the Moon's one-sided visibility from Earth on BBC Science Focus Magazine.
