Why Do We See The Same Side Of The Moon From Earth

 Camila Farah    

 
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

Simply said because the moon s rotation coincide with its orbit around the earth we only see the same surface of the moon.

For starters the moon is not stuck in place with one side facing us. 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. From earth we always see nearly the same face of the moon. 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.

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. There s no such thing as a permanently dark side of the moon. The side facing away from the sun is in shadow. The sun shines on one half of the moon.

The moon is directly illuminated by the sun and the cyclically varying viewing conditions cause the lunar phases. If you had a moon base you would spend 14 days in sunshine and 14 days in darkness. 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. There are two main reasons for this.

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Nasa jpl caltech the far side of the moon looks very different than the near side see the first photo in this article. 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. A simple demonstration shows the idea. First the moon s orbit around earth is elliptical not circular so its rotation is sometimes ahead and sometimes behind its orbital motion.

Our lunar companion rotates while it orbits earth. But why 59 percent and not 50 percent. The whole earth sees the same moon phase on the same day but the northern and southern hemispheres see the moon oriented differently with respect to the horizon. Well this is due to the fact that the moon s orbit is elliptical and not circular.

As a result the same lunar hemisphere always faces earth.

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

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

Why Do We Always See The Same Side Of The Moon From Earth Earth Moon Sides

Why Do We Always See The Same Side Of The Moon From Earth Earth Moon Sides

It Is Important To Note That East On The Moon Is West In Earth S Sky And That West On The Moon Is East In Ear Moon Map Craters Of The Moon

It Is Important To Note That East On The Moon Is West In Earth S Sky And That West On The Moon Is East In Ear Moon Map Craters Of The Moon

Why Do We Only See One Side Of The Moon Astronomy Earth And Space Science Space And Astronomy

Why Do We Only See One Side Of The Moon Astronomy Earth And Space Science Space And Astronomy

Why Do We Always See The Same Side Of The Moon Apollo 16 Moon Astronomy

Why Do We Always See The Same Side Of The Moon Apollo 16 Moon Astronomy

Why The Same Side Of The Moon Always Faces The Earth Moon Images Full Moon Moon

Why The Same Side Of The Moon Always Faces The Earth Moon Images Full Moon Moon

Inside Earth S Moon Infographic Moon Facts Planets And Moons Moon Infographic

Inside Earth S Moon Infographic Moon Facts Planets And Moons Moon Infographic

We Can Only See One Side Of The Moon From Earth In 2020 Earth Orbit One Sided Earth

We Can Only See One Side Of The Moon From Earth In 2020 Earth Orbit One Sided Earth

We Only See One Side Of The Moon Because It S Tidally Locked To Earth And We Only See The Side That Faces Us The Reason For This Is Bec Moon Nasa

We Only See One Side Of The Moon Because It S Tidally Locked To Earth And We Only See The Side That Faces Us The Reason For This Is Bec Moon Nasa

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