The near side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that is permanently turned towards Earth, whereas the opposite side is the far side. Only one side of the Moon is visible from Earth because the Moon rotates on its 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. Sometimes the dark portion of the Moon is faintly visible due to earthshine, which is indirect sunlight reflected from the surface of Earth and onto the Moon. Since the Moon's orbit is both somewhat elliptical and inclined to its equatorial plane, libration allows up to 59% of the Moon's surface to be viewed from Earth. effects
Orientation
The 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. 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 coordinates are used or astronomical coordinates. The actual orientation you see the Moon in the sky or on the horizon depends on your geographiclatitude on Earth. In the following description a few typical cases will be considered.
In mid northern latitudes the Moon rises in the east with its northeastern limb up, it reaches its highest point in the south with its north on top, and sets in the west with its northwestern limb on top.
On the equator, when the Moon rises in the east, its N — S axis appears horizontal and Mare Foecunditatis is on top. When it sets in the west, about 12.5 hours later, the axis is still horizontal, and Oceanus Procellarum is the last area to dip below the horizon. In between these events, the Moon reached its highest point in the zenith and then its selenographic directions are lined up with those on Earth.
In mid southern latitudes the Moon rises in the east with its southeastern limb up, it reaches its highest point in the north with its south on top, and sets in the west with its southwestern limb on top.
On the south pole the Moon behaves as on the north pole, but there it appears with its south pole up.
Differences
The two hemispheres have distinctly different appearances, with the near side covered in multiple, large maria. These lowlands were believed to be seas of lunar water by the astronomers who first mapped them, in the 17th century. Although no bodies of liquid exist on the Moon, the term "mare" is still used. The far side has a battered, densely cratered appearance with few maria. Only 1% of the surface of the far side is covered by maria, compared to 31.2% on the near side. According to research analyzed by NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission, the reason for the difference is because the Moon's crust is thinner on the near side compared to the far side. The dark splotches that make up the large lunar maria are lava-filled impact basins that were created by asteroid impacts about four billion years ago. Though both sides of the Moon were bombarded by similarly large impactors, the near side hemisphere crust and upper mantle was hotter than that of the far side, resulting in the larger impact craters. These larger impact craters make up the Man in the Moon references from popular mythology.
