Why Do We Only See One Side Of The Moon From Earth
Camila Farah
![This Animation Visually Explains Why Only One Side Of The Moon Is Visible As It Circles The Earth Space Facts Chemistry For Kids Astronomy](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3c/d0/df/3cd0dfaef760a0364b45a679dcc36ea1.png)
And second the moon s rotation axis is not at right angles to its orbit around the earth so we can sometimes see over or under its poles.
This is why we always see the same side of the moon. The moon is directly illuminated by the sun and the cyclically. Nope not by chance it s pure physics. The moon rotates at the same speed as the earth.
But over millions of years the effect of the earth s gravity has slowed down the moon s rotation until it became gravitationally locked to the earth. There are two main reasons for this. Our lunar companion rotates while it orbits earth. Only the near side of the moon is visible from the earth because the rate with which moon revolves around the earth is the same with which it rotates or spins on its axis a phenomenon that the astronomers call as synchronous rotation or tidal locking the concept of tidal locking is based on the concept of gravity.
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. Mostly only the satellite is tidally locked to the larger bodies with a circular orbit. For instance the same side of the moon always faces the earth although there is a minor variation since the moon s orbit is not perfectly circular. 1 the moon rotates at the same speed as the earth 2 you can see different sides of the moon from varying locations on earth 3 the moon rotates one time on its axis every time it orbits the earth 4 the moon rotates one time on its axis every time it orbits the sun 5 none of the above.
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The near side of the moon is the lunar hemisphere that is permanently turned towards earth as opposed to the opposite 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 synchronous rotation or tidal locking. First the moon s orbit around earth is elliptical not circular so its rotation is sometimes ahead and sometimes behind its orbital motion.Source : pinterest.com