When we see the Moon fully illuminated at Full Moon, the far side is in darkness. At perigee, the Moon's orbital speed is a little faster than its rotational speed. The far side’s crust is also significantly thicker than the near side, perhaps due to the number of impact craters. Over time, this force has slowed down the Moon's rotation until it reached a speed matching the speed of its orbit around Earth. This effect is known as tidal locking, and it is caused by the tidal forces of our planet. The point of the orbit closest to Earth is called perigee, while the point farthest away is known as apogee. In the same way as the Moon exerts tidal force on our planet, causing tides on Earth, our planet exerts tidal force on the Moon. To get the best experience possible, please download a compatible browser. Shortly after it sent back the very first photos of moon's far side. The far side of the moon - colloquially known as the dark side - actually gets as much light as the near side but always faces away from Earth. You will also find a vast amount of more or less humorous conspiracy theories about secret Moon bases and UFOs, along with images from the far side of the Moon showing what some claim to be structures created by humans or aliens. A white tower with a black sphere on the top is seen in one of the Apollo 11 photos refer to the point … The Earth‐Moon system’s history remains mysterious. Since the Moon revolves around Earth on an elliptical path, the Moon's distance from Earth varies from day to day. Technically, the far side is the ‘dark side’ at the instant of Full Moon. Data from this round of exploration will be received in a few weeks but we are here to discuss the big discovery of the previous lunar day. READ MORE: China’s Yutu-2 rover finds “milestone” on far side of the moon [Space.com] Advertisement More on asteroids: Bill Nye Implores Biden to Protect Earth From Dangerous Asteroids From Earth, the Moon seems to rock slightly from north to south and wobble a little from east to west. On the far side, the Moon phases are exactly opposite from the ones we see from Earth, on the near side. Scientists have identified a strange, gel-like substance that was discovered on the far side of the moon. The far side of the moon has comparatively thick crust as compared to that of the near side. China's Chang'e 4 spacecraft landed on the moon on Jan. 3. The far side of the moon differs from the near side in having far less area covered by dark lava flows (the lunar maria or “seas”). The moon’s far side is sometimes known as the dark side, although it is not darker than the near side in any literal sense. A thin sliver of shadowed area of moon is visible on its right side. Far Side of the Moon is a playful journey through childhood memories, medical calamity and our race's wistful hope that we may yet have a future playing up among the stars. The most striking difference evident in the Luna 3 pictures is the absence of the large, dark seas of cooled lava, called maria, that cover a substantial fraction of the Earth-facing near side. T he far side of the moon is a strange and wild region, quite different from the familiar and mostly smooth face we see nightly from our planet. On the far side, the Moon phases are exactly opposite from the ones we see from Earth, on the near side. Your browser or your browser's settings are not supported. What the movie didn’t manage to do is show how the far side of the Moon looks like, in detail, as seen by the three men on board the spacecraft. We have several photos sent back from lunar missions. In 1968, astronauts aboard the Apollo 8 spacecraft were the first humans to set eyes on the far side in person as they orbited the moon. If you know your browser is up to date, you should check to ensure that Here's the agency's sped-up animation of one month as seen from the moon's far side: We see a new moon when the dark side faces Earth, and a full moon when the dark side covers the far side. When it is New Moon here, it is Full Moon on the far side. Image: First Photo of the Lunar Farside. Half of the Moon's surface is always illuminated, and during the course of a lunar month, most areas of the surface have about 14-15 days of sunlight. But for the majority of human history, we had no idea what the far side looked like. © Time and Date AS 1995–2021. Astronomer Phillipe Zarka, quoted by the authors, says, “The far side of the moon during the lunar night is … In fact, observations have shown that only about 1% of the moon's far side is covered with maria, or craters caused by volcanic activity on the moon. China’s Yutu-2 rover recently began its 27th lunar day on the far side of the Moon. But there is a far side of the Moon, a side we never see from Earth. The lunar far side lacks the large, dark, basaltic plains, or maria, that are so prominent on the Earth-facing side. Just because we can't see the far side of the moon from Earth doesn't mean we don't know what it looks like. The Earth and the Moon cast 3 different shadows: umbra, penumbra, and antumbra. It speeds up when it is closest and slows down when it is farthest away from us. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, The Far Side of the Moon -- And All the Way Around, Follow this link to skip to the main content. 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