Dark Side Of The Moon why is it always the same side?

[palestranger 0]

Can anyone tell me why the dark side of the moon is always the same. (the moon rotates around and earth as well, i don't get it! )

[lhunath 0]

Because the moon rotates around it's own axis as well. In the oposite direction at the same speed.You have the rotation around the earth that would make the surface turn to us in one direction, and the rotation around it's own axis in the opposite direction that would rotate the surface away, both are equally fast and therefore cancel each other out relatively.

[palestranger 0]

Phew, still complicated.... I think i'll understand if i read this post ten times thanks Lhunath... If there's one place men will never go it'll be to the dark side of the moon, because it's always pitchblack and freezing cold.

[lhunath 0]

Pitch Black eh.. =)

And it's not that complicated. A drawing would make it easier to understand, but if the moon rotates around the earth and it were to stand still, the angle at which we would see it, would differ, and we'd see another part of the moon all the time :

 

1.                     Earth       Moon-----------------------------------------------------2.                     Earth                     Moon-----------------------------------------------------3.                     Earth                                         Moon

But the moon also rotates around it's own axis, to draw this with ASCII will be hard but let me try:

1.                       Earth     Moon-----------------------------------------------------2.                       Earth          on       Mo-----------------------------------------------------3.                        Earth                          n                          o                          o                          M-----------------------------------------------------4.                       Earth                                         nooM

You see, in the first example, you first saw the "n" of "Moon", and at the end you saw the "M" of "Moon", in the second example, you always see the "n" of "Moon"

[palestranger 0]

and then where is the sun in all this?? this still does NOT xplain the dark side

[marijnnn 0]

haha, go to your geomitry classes dude!cool thing is: american kids always see the other side than we do.

[lhunath 0]

palestranger, the "dark" side, has nothing to do with the fact that it's dark there, or the sun. As you probably know, it's not full moon all the time, when it eclipses, it gets lighter on the other side of the moon, the side which we can't see.The name "dark side of the moon" is born because it's a side we never get to "see". It's more of a metaphoric name.marijnnn, they can see the other side, they see it under a diffrent angle alright, but the angle isn't that large that they can see the other side.. Thats mathematically impossible, except if the moon were inbetween Europe & America, which, it is not. ;P (there's sea there.... ;/)

[deivid1405241470 0]

Hmmm you can't see the dark side of the moon, but you can listen... go and buy the album Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd.

Here is a page, about the moon and explain everything about it

http://school-for-champions.com/error/404.htm

[iGuest 3]

Earth's gravity slows the moon's rotation on axis for 4 billon years. That's why moon rotates on its axis at the same rate as its orbit around the Earth. The same thing moon does with earth.

[d-and-d 0]

I think I understand - the moon rotates on its own axis at such a speed that we never see one side but always the same one. The so called "light" and "dark" sides are unrelated though.Am I correct there? (I really hope so I hate not understanding things!"

[iGuest 3]

I think you are right.