Why Do We Always See The Same Side Of The Moon
Olivia Luz
![Synchronous Rotation Of The Moon A Visual To Help The Students Understand Why We Always See The Same Side Of The Moon Moon Orbit Moon Earth And Space Science](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/97/a4/16/97a4161b0bd7699525f2c12392e0a634.jpg)
This happens because the moon rotates on its axis in the same amount of time it takes to orbit earth a trait called synchronous rotation.
Simply said because the moon s rotation coincide with its orbit around the earth we only see the same surface of the moon. So from earth the moon always shows the same side. The moon rotates once on its axis in the twenty seven and a third days that it takes to complete a circuit around the earth. The moon orbits around the earth and takes approximately 28 days to make one full orbit.
A simple demonstration shows the idea. Likewise earth tugs at the moon creating a rocky high tide bulge facing us. The simple answer is that we only see one side of the moon because the moon rotates around the earth at the exact same angular speed in fact it s not exactly true we ll talk about it later too as it rotates around its own axis so that the same side of the moon is constantly facing the surface of the earth. As you can see this means that the time to orbit the earth and the time to spin on it s axis are the same.
Since the rotational period is exactly the same as the orbital period the same portion of the moon always faces earth. The moon rotates on its own axis and it takes approximately 28 days to make one full rotation. If the child made only 99 999 per cent of a turn in every complete orbit you would eventually see his or her back. Nasa jpl caltech the far side of the moon looks very different than the near side see the first photo in this article.
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Well this is due to the fact that the moon s orbit is elliptical and not circular. If it rotated slightly faster or slower the other face would gradually come completely into view. The visible side and the hidden side. How d this come to be.
From earth we always see nearly the same face of the moon. We only ever see one side of the moon because as it orbits around earth it also rotates on its own axis at the same speed. That bulge ended up working like a brake slowing the moon s spin down to the current rate so the lunar high tide permanently faces us. Gizmo50245 b the gravitational effect of earth has slowed the rotational period of the moon to match its orbit.
Source : pinterest.com