What is the “dark side of the moon” and why is there a dark side of the moon?
When we refer to the ‘dark side’ of the Moon, we are talking about the side that we never see from Earth, because the Moon is tidally locked and rotates only once as it goes all the way around the Earth, so the same side is always facing us. But that side isn’t always dark. At any given time, half the Moon will be illuminated by the Sun. Sometimes it’s the part facing us (full Moon – going in order, Sun – Earth – Moon) and sometimes it’s the part facing away (new Moon, in order Sun – Moon – Earth. Try drawing yourself a picture if that still doesn’t make sense.
