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While were always pretty sure that the moon had another side to it, nobody ever
saw it, because the moon always keeps the same side facing the earth. Finally,
in 1959, the Russians sent a spacecraft around the moon carrying a camera, and
the pictures it sent back confirmed our suspicions ... for the first time, we could
clearly see that the moon has another side, back around where we cannot see it.
And that was about all we could really tell from those 1959 photos, because their
quality was so poor.
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What is the name of the side of the moon that we don't see the dark side?
The side of the moon that we do not see from Earth is commonly referred to as the "far side" of the moon. This term is more accurate than "dark side" because both sides experience daylight and darkness over time due to the moon's rotation.
Where is the dark side of the moon as it moves to full?
The dark side of the moon refers to the side that is not currently illuminated by the sun. As the moon moves towards the full moon phase, the dark side is on the opposite side of the moon from the Earth, meaning it is not visible from Earth until it begins to rotate towards us as it approaches full moon.
What was the first spacecraft to observe the dark side of the Moon?
The first spacecraft to observe the dark side of the Moon was the Soviet Luna 3 probe in 1959. It captured the first images of the far side of the Moon and transmitted them back to Earth using a radio transmitter. These images provided valuable insights into the previously unseen hemisphere of the Moon.
Why is one side of the moon called the dark side the moon?
'Dark side' is really a misnomer. The entire moon experiences daylight and night time, just as earth does. However, a full day (analogous to earth's 24 hour day) is an entire lunar cycle long on the moon. The side of the moon that faces away from earth might be more properly called the 'far side'.Many believe that the moon does not turn on its axis, but this is a completely geocentric (and inaccurate) assumption. It is not unlike the belief of centuries past that the sun, moon, planets and stars must orbit around earth; after all, that is how it appears.In order for the same face of the moon to orient toward earth all of the time, while the moon orbits around the earth, then the moon must turn on its axis exactly once for every orbit that the moon makes around earth.It was named the 'Dark side' because until the Luna 3 probe in 1959 nothing was known about it. (Dark being used as meaning 'unseeable' or 'mysterious') Now days it is more commonly known as the Far Side.
Why does the new moon seem so dark?
The new moon appears dark in the sky because the side of the moon facing Earth is not illuminated by the sun. During this phase, the moon is located between the Earth and the sun, so the side of the moon that is lit is facing away from us, making it seem dark.
Why was the far side of the moon unknown until 1959?
The far side of the moon was unknown until 1959 because the moon is tidally locked, meaning it rotates on its axis at the same rate it orbits Earth, so only one side is visible from Earth. The Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 captured the first images of the far side in 1959, providing the first glimpse of this hidden portion of the moon.
What is the name of the side of the moon that we don't see the dark side?
The side of the moon that we do not see from Earth is commonly referred to as the "far side" of the moon. This term is more accurate than "dark side" because both sides experience daylight and darkness over time due to the moon's rotation.
What faces do the moon have?
The Moon always presents the same side of itself to Earth, thus nobody had seen the other side of the Moon (i.e. the other half) until a rocket orbited the Moon.
Is the back of the moon ever visible?
The back side of the Moon always faces away from Earth and is not visible. The Apollo 8 astronauts were the first people to view the back side of the moon directly, when they orbited the moon. The first pictures of the back side of the moon were taken by the Soviet Union's Luna 3 space probe in 1959.
Looking for the meaning of a quarter moon on the peak of the east side of an old house and a half moon on the peak of the westside?
how did the moon get its nameIt is unknown when the last quarter moon was. A quarter mood is with the moon is 50% covered with clouds.
Where is the dark side of the moon as it moves to full?
The dark side of the moon refers to the side that is not currently illuminated by the sun. As the moon moves towards the full moon phase, the dark side is on the opposite side of the moon from the Earth, meaning it is not visible from Earth until it begins to rotate towards us as it approaches full moon.
What year did the first picture of the dark side of the moon taken?
The first photo was of the far side of the moon was taken in 1959 by Luna 3, the Soviet space craft. It was first directly observed by Apollo 8 in 1968.
What was the first spacecraft to observe the dark side of the Moon?
The first spacecraft to observe the dark side of the Moon was the Soviet Luna 3 probe in 1959. It captured the first images of the far side of the Moon and transmitted them back to Earth using a radio transmitter. These images provided valuable insights into the previously unseen hemisphere of the Moon.
Why are there no maps of the far side of the moon?
There are plenty of maps of the far side of the moon, simply type "moon map far side" into the web browser of your choice. But we had to wait until we could get something to orbit the moon to get them, as the Moon always have the same side facing Earth. The Earth side, we could make maps as soon as we hade decent telescopes. And of course, you have no way of knowing if they are correct or not.
Do we see only one side of the moon?
Yes, we can see only one side (face) of the Moon. This is called the "near side". The "far side" is not visible from anywhere on Earth's surface. This is because the Moon has become "tidally locked" to the Earth due to gravity. The Moon still rotates, but the period of that rotation is now exactly equal to its period of revolution around the Earth. Due to slight changes called libration, we can see slightly more than half of the Moon over the time of its orbit. The appearance of most the "far side" of the Moon was completely unknown before the Soviet Union sent a space probe in 1959 to circle the Moon and take photographs of the far side. * It is not accurate to call the far side of the Moon the "dark side". Every place on the Moon has a regular cycle of daylight (sun up in the sky) and darkness (sun below the horizon and not visible in the sky). The Moon's "daytime" and "night-time" are each about 14.8 days, at every place on the near side AND the far side. Wherever you might be on the Moon, you have a cycle of light and dark, just as you do on Earth. But whereas the complete cycle repeats every 24 HOURS on Earth, it's 29.5 DAYS on the Moon.
Why is the moon always dark on the opposite side?
No. Just like almost every place on earth, almost every place on the moon has a 'daytime' ... when the sun is up and the ground is light ... followed by a 'nighttime' ... when the sun is down and the ground is dark. On earth, the sun-up and sun-down periods average out to 12 hours each. On the moon, they average out to almost two earth-weeks each.
Why does the same side of the moon always faced earth?
The moon is tidally locked with the earth. The reason is that the moon is slightly heavier on one side than the other. Due to tidal friction, the moon's rotation (with respect to earth) would have gradually slowed over the eons, so that eventually it would lock in resonance with the earth. The moon probably became tidally locked more than a billion years ago, long before any life on earth evolved eyes. Therefore the distant side of the moon remained unknown until we sent orbiters around it to snap photos. I believe the Russians succeeded at this first.
