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The Moon is in synchronous rotation, which means it rotates about its axis in about the same time it takes to orbit the Earth. This results in it keeping nearly the same face turned towards the Earth at all times. The Moon used to rotate at a faster rate, but early in its history, its rotation slowed and became locked in this orientation as a result of frictional effects associated with tidal deformations caused by the Earth.

Small variations (libration) in the angle from which the Moon is seen allow about 59% of its surface to be seen from the Earth (but only half at any instant).

The side of the Moon that faces Earth is called the near side, and the opposite side the far side. The far side is often inaccurately called the "dark side," but in fact, it is illuminated exactly as often as the near side: once per lunar day, during the new Moon phase we observe on Earth when the near side is dark. The far side of the Moon was first photographed by the Soviet probe Luna 3 in 1959. One distinguishing feature of the far side is its almost complete lack of maria.

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15y ago

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