
According to NASA, “It’s The Side We Never See” is a mosaic of many lunar farside images taken by the agency’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
The far side of the moon is always out of view from Earth due to a phenomenon called “synchronous rotation”. This means that every 27.3 days, the moon rotates on its axis and completes one orbit around Earth. This means that each point on its surface experiences roughly two weeks of night followed by two weeks of daylight
The phrase “dark side of the moon” is metaphorical, not literal. The moon does get sunlight, and the Apollo 8 astronauts were the first to see it in 1968. The far side of the moon has been seen by all 24 men who flew on Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 through Apollo 17, and photographed by multiple lunar probes
Here are some things the Apollo 8 astronauts saw on the far side of the moon:
- Earth rising On December 24, 1968, the astronauts saw Earth rise above the moon’s barren surface.
- “Double umbra” The astronauts first entered a shadowed region where neither sunlight nor reflected light from Earth was visible. They called this the “double umbra”.
- Stars The astronauts saw millions of stars.
- Sand pile Astronaut William Anders described the view as “a sand pile my kids have played in for some time”. It’s all beat up, no definition, just a lot of bumps and holes.
- Campfires Some astronauts have described seeing a bonfire or campfire-like phenomena on the surface of the moon. No human has set foot on the dark side of the moon, nor did any unmanned craft ever land there until 2019.
From their orbital altitude of 69 statute miles, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders were able to describe the surface of the moon in detail. “The back side [of the moon] looks like a sand pile my kids have played in for some time. It’s all beat up, no definition, just a lot of bumps and holes
Yes, the Apollo 8 astronauts were the first humans to see the far side of the moon in person in 1968. The astronauts, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders, reached the far side of the moon 69 hours, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds after launch. They were armed with still and movie cameras to photograph the moon, but the most enduring image of their mission is the photo of Earth
Here are some things photographs reveal about the far side of the moon:
- Craters The far side of the moon is much more cratered than the near side. The image NASA shares shows the moon’s round, grey disc pockmarked with craters of all sizes.
- Surface The far side of the moon has a more irregular, rougher surface on average than the side that faces the Earth.
- Heat-emitting blob Scientists have discovered an anomalous blob of heat on the far side of the moon. This mysterious hotspot is likely caused by the natural radiation emanating from a huge buried mass of granite.
- Crater NASA recently released a full image of a permanently shadowed crater on the dark side of the Moon, generated from numerous photos from two cameras on space probes.
The far side of the moon is rugged and has many impact craters. It has fewer flat and dark lunar maria, or “seas”, than the near side. The far side’s appearance is similar to other barren places in the Solar System, like Mercury and Callisto
Some have described the far side as looking like a sand pile that children have played in. It’s “all beat up, no definition, just a lot of bumps and holes”.
The far side is the “dark side” at the moment of a full moon. The only places on the moon’s surface that are permanently in shadow are a few deep craters at the north and south poles
The far side of the moon looks different from the near side for a few reasons:
- Crust thickness: The far side has a thicker crust than the near side. This has prevented molten rock from covering as many craters.
- Impact: Research suggests that a dwarf planet collided with the moon early in the solar system’s history, causing the difference in cratering.
- Tidal locking: The moon is tidally locked, meaning the same side always faces Earth.
- Lunar libration: The moon’s elliptical orbit causes the visible face of the moon to change slightly. This is called lunar libration.
- Direction of sunlight: The direction of sunlight can also make the moon look different. The near side of the moon is dominated by the lunar mare, which are the remnants of ancient lava flows. The far side has fewer large-scale mare features.
We always see the same side of the moon because the period of rotation of the moon on its axis is equal to the period of its revolution around the earth, so we only see the side that faces us and this side faces at us all the time
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