Near side of the Moon
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Categories: Articles lacking sources from December 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Lunar science
The near side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that is permanently turned towards the Earth, whereas the opposite side is the far side of the Moon. This effect is due to the fact that the near side of the Moon is heavier, and is thus drawn more toward the earth by its gravity. As a result of this gravity effect, the Moon rotates about its spin axis at the same rate that the Moon orbits the Earth, a situation known as synchronous rotation or tidal locking. The Moon is directly illuminated by the Sun, and the cyclically varying viewing conditions cause the lunar phases. The unilluminated portions of the Moon can sometimes be dimly seen as a result of earthshine, which is sunlight reflected off the surface of the Earth and onto the Moon. Since the Moon's orbit is both somewhat elliptical and inclined to the ecliptic plane, librations allow up to 9% of the far side hemisphere to be viewed from Earth. Image:Moon names.jpg
The names of the major seas and some craters on the near side of the Moon
NamesThe near side of the Moon is characterised by large dark areas that were once believed to be seas by astronomers who first mapped them in the 17th century (notably, Giovanni Battista Riccioli and Francesco Maria Grimaldi). Although it was found out later that the Moon has no water, the term "mare" (plural: maria) are still used. The lighter toned regions are referred to as "terrae", or more commonly, the "highlands". OrientationThe image of the Moon here is drawn as is normally shown on maps, that is with north on top and west to the left. Astronomers usually turn the map over to have south on top, as to correspond with the view in most telescopes which also show the image upside down. Note that west and east on the Moon are where you would expect them, when standing on the Moon. But when we, on Earth, see the Moon in the sky, then the east — west direction is just reversed. When specifying coordinates on the Moon it should therefore always be mentioned whether geographic (or rather selenographic) coordinates are used or astronomical coordinates. The actual orientation you see the Moon in the sky or on the horizon depends on your geographic latitude on Earth. In the following description a few typical cases will be considered.
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