Questions about the moon!?

Question

1.) Why have observers on Earth never seen craters on one side of the moon?

2.) How do equinoxes and solstices differ?

3.) How would the moon appear to an observer in space during its revolution? Would phases be observable?

4.) Which of the moon's motions are real? Which are apparent? Explain why each occurs.

Answer 1

1.) Why have observers on Earth never seen craters on one side of the moon? Because the moon has synchronous rotation, that is, it rotates at the same time that revolves around the Earth.

2.) How do equinoxes and solstices differ?
Equinoxes are when day and night are equal duration. Solstices are when the day is the longest in the year or when the night is the longest in all the year long.

3.) How would the moon appear to an observer in space during its revolution? Would phases be observable?
Unless he waits some days phases would´nt be observable.
4.) Which of the moon's motions are real? Which are apparent? Explain why each occurs.
Real motions: rotation, revolution around the Earth, nutation, libration.
Apparent motions: moonrise and moonset

Answer 2

Hi.
1) Because the Moon is tidally locked and we only see one side.
2) An equinox has equal times of daylight and night.( Not exactly but close.) The solstices occur when the Sun is at highest or lowest positions in the sky.
3) An observer would see the same phases as on Earth if she was motionless in Earth's orbit.
4) The Moon orbits from west to east, but due to Earth's rotaion appears to move oppositely. The orbit is real.