The term “dark side” is a misnomer The accurate designation is the “far side.” this side receives just as much sunlight over the course of a lunar month as the near side. All of the manned space missions to the moon have landed on the nearside due to communication needs, so humans have physically explored this side much more. The distinctive pattern of bright highlands and dark lunar maria on the moon has been turned towards us for millennia, visible to every human who has ever stood on earth But why do we only see this one side of the moon We know that earth spins about its axis, so why don’t we get to see the full lunar surface as our moon does the same?
The reason for this similarity is simple We almost always see the same surface when we stare at the moon, the same patterns of craters and cavities, thanks to the way that the moon moves, rotating and revolving around earth So, what about the other surface of our only natural satellite? Viewed from earth, the moon appears to rock slowly backwards and forwards so that we see a slightly different face throughout the lunar month There are two main reasons for this First, the moon’s orbit around earth is elliptical not circular so its rotation is sometimes ahead, and sometimes behind, its orbital motion.
The moon goes through different phases as it orbits the earth, from crescent to quarter to gibbous But no matter the phase, we always see the same side of the moon from our vantage point on earth The answer lies in the moon’s synchronous rotation, also known as tidal locking.
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