The Far Side of the Moon Has Phases and Now You Can See 'Em (Video)

A new video from a NASA satellite orbiting the moon brings the phases of the far side of the lunar body into the light.

The phases of the moon — full moon, new moon, crescent and everything in between — also occur on the side facing away from Earth, according to data gathered by the NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). As the moon and the Earth move together around the sun, both sides of the planet's natural satellite experience phases of light and dark. You can watch the LRO video featuring lunar data and images.

The reason Earth only sees one side of the moon is that the two objects spin in a certain way relative to one another. The moon rotates as it orbits around the Earth, but its orbit and its rotation are matched, causing only one side to ever face the Earth — a phenomenon called tidal locking.

[link to m.space.com]


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