why is half of the moon dark and is it always dark on the same side?

Answer 1

Because the Moon is round and the Sun is the only source of light in our solar system - only half of it can be illuminated at one time. But sometimes the side we don't see it lit up - when we have a new Moon.

Answer 2

Asking about the "Dark Side of the Moon".

It's not a very good name for it, it does get sunlight. When we would see a New Moon the "Dark Side" of the moon is getting sunlight.

As for why we only see one side of the moon, that I can answer. Tidal Lock. Because of the interplay between Earth, The Moon, and to a lesser degree The Sun, the moon's rotation around it's axis has been slowed to the point where it matches the time it takes to travel around the Earth. In effect, it faces us with the same side all the time.

Answer 3

N O the same side of the moon is the only side u see.

Answer 4

Half is dark because it is essentially round and only illuminated from the Sun. It is not always dark on the same side, but we see mostly only the same side from earth because the period of its rotation on its axis is the same as the period of its rotation around the earth.

Answer 5

quote from wikipedia - The Moon is in synchronous rotation, meaning that it keeps the same face turned to the Earth at all times. This synchronous rotation is only true on average because the Moon's orbit has definite eccentricity. When the Moon is at its perigee, its rotation is slower than its orbital motion, and this allows us to see up to an extra eight degrees of longitude of its East (right) side. Conversely, when the Moon reaches its apogee, its rotation is faster than its orbital motion and reveals another eight degrees of longitude of its West (left) side. This is called longitudinal libration.

Answer 6

it is always dark on one side because of the rotational rate of the moon compared to the rotational rate of the earth....example:
place basketball on the floor...hold a smaller ball in your hands and walk around the basketball...keep the same face of the smaller ball pointing towards the basketball.....you'll notice that either you will have to rotate or you will have to rotate the ball in order to keep the same face on the basketball...try to see the experiment from an outside perspective..you will see the rotation.