A the dark side
B the same side
C different sides
D the crater side
2007-02-20 14:40:40 · 11 answers · asked by Indiana Jones 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
P.S. Thanks to everyone who answered, I need to double check answers to my 4th graders HW. I also thought B because it was mentioned on a History Channel show.
2007-02-20 15:08:15 · update #1
The same side.
2007-02-20 14:42:46 · answer #1 · answered by mrswho86 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Earth's Moon
The Moon's rotation and orbital periods are both just under 4 weeks, so no matter when the Moon is observed from the Earth the same hemisphere of the Moon is always seen. The far side of the Moon was not seen in its entirety until 1959, when photographs were transmitted from the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3.
Despite the Moon's rotational and orbital periods being exactly locked, we may actually observe about 59% of the moon's total surface with repeated observations from earth due to the phenomena of librations and parallax. Librations are primarily caused by the Moon's varying orbital speed due to the eccentricity of its orbit: this allows us to see up to about 6° more along its perimeter. Parallax is a geometric effect: at the surface of the Earth we are offset from the line through the centers of Earth and Moon, and because of this we can observe a bit (about 1°) more around the side of the Moon when it is on our local horizon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_locking
2007-02-20 15:29:15 · answer #2 · answered by srrl_ferroequinologist 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is worth pointing out to your students that the moon does not have a permanent "dark side". That is, there is no more dark side of the moon than there is dark side of the earth. Everywhere gets night and day (ignoring seasonal "land of the midnight sun" considerations.) (It is true, though, that "dark" lasts longer on the moon...about 14 days.)
Please make that clear, because you hear the phrase "dark side of the moon" so often that many people do misunderstand.
2007-02-20 16:07:06 · answer #3 · answered by Rob S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The side facing Earth is actually called the near side, but since that isn't one of the choices, I'll have to go with B the same side.
2007-02-20 14:56:38 · answer #4 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
b
the term is Tidal Locked meaning that some time in the past the Earths gravitational field 'captured' the moon ( stopped it's rotation )
and the 'dark' side refers to the fact that we can't see it - it gets the same amount of light as 'our' side ( when 'our' side is dark it is light )
2007-02-20 14:43:58 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
B the same side.
It's 'day' is 28 days long, so it always faces earth. Strange but true.
Ref: 5th paragraph:
http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/luna.html
2007-02-20 14:43:59 · answer #6 · answered by Jim 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The man on the moon is facing us. B
2007-02-20 14:49:27 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
B, but a better answer is: the heavier side.
2007-02-20 14:45:10 · answer #8 · answered by CLICKHEREx 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the same side because of the one to one rotation.
2007-02-20 14:43:35 · answer #9 · answered by helplessromatic2000 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the outside
2007-02-20 14:43:37 · answer #10 · answered by jglassdude 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋