Sage-Tips

Is the surface of the far side of the Moon different from the side we see?

The first image of the far side of the Moon showed some surprising differences when compared with the face that we normally see. The far side has far fewer ‘maria’, which are large dark patches caused by ancient volcanic flows. Instead it is much more densely covered with craters compared to the near side.

What makes the surface of the Moon reflective?

The moon shines because its surface reflects light from the sun. This is when the moon is between the sun and the Earth, so that the side of the moon reflecting sunlight is facing away from Earth. In the days before and after a new moon, we’ll see a sliver of the moon reflecting sunlight.

Which is more reflective moon or Earth?

Overall, the Moon reflects only 11\% of the sunlight striking it, but the Earth reflects approximately 37\% of the sunlight incident upon it. Put this all together, and a “full Earth” as seen from the Moon is about 43 times brighter than the full Moon is as seen from Earth.

What do you think is the same for the mirror and the Moon when it comes to light?

As you can imagine, you need to angle the mirror quite a bit in order to catch the light from the Sun. On the other hand, if the Moon in the day sky is quite distant from the Sun, then you likely will see more of its illuminated surface – a half moon.

Why is the other side of the moon different?

“Because of the relative lack of erosion processes, the moon’s surface records geological events from the solar system’s early history. In particular, regions on the moon’s near side have concentrations of radioactive elements like U and Th unlike anywhere else on the moon.

Do we see different sides of the Moon?

The Moon orbits Earth once every 27.3 days and spins on its axis once every 27.3 days. This means that although the Moon is rotating, it always keeps one face toward us. Known as “synchronous rotation,” this is why we only ever see the Moon’s nearside from Earth.

How reflective is the moon?

The lunar albedo (fractional reflectivity) is only about 0.12 – in other words, over the visible spectrum, it reflects a mere 12\% of the light hitting it, absorbing the rest.

Does the earth reflect light to the moon?

Light is reflected from Earth to the Moon and back to Earth as earthshine. Earthshine is used to help determine the current albedo of Earth. Oceans reflect the least amount of light, roughly 10\%. Land reflects 10–25\% of sunlight, and clouds reflect around 50\%.

How reflective is the Moon?

How reflective is the Earth?

Using satellite measurements accumulated since the late 1970s, scientists estimate Earth’s average albedo is about about 0.30. The maps above show how the reflectivity of Earth—the amount of sunlight reflected back into space—changed between March 1, 2000, and December 31, 2011.

What is it called when the Sun and moon are out at the same time?

It’s called a selenelion, and it occurs when the sun and moon are 180 degrees apart in the sky at the same time.

What is the composition of the Moon’s near side?

Earth’s Moon has a ‘near side’ that is perpetually Earth-facing and a ‘far side’, which always faces away from Earth. The composition of the Moon’s near side is oddly different from its far side, and scientists think they finally understand why. The Earth‐Moon system’s history remains mysterious.

Why does only one side of the moon face the Earth?

When the Moon first formed, its rotational speed and orbit were very different than they are now. Over time, the Earth’s gravitational field gradually slowed the Moon’s rotation until the orbital period and the rotational speed stabilized, making one side of the Moon always face the Earth.

Why is the Moon not a perfect sphere?

It is often assumed that the moon is a perfect sphere, which it is not. The side of the moon facing earth is more dense than the side facing away. Therefore, it takes energy for the moon to rotate its earth-facing side away from the earth.

Why is the Moon’s rotation speed different on each side?

The discrepancy comes from the fact that the Moon’s orbit around the Earth isn’t perfectly circular, more of an ellipse. As the Moon’s distance from the Earth increases and decreases, its angular speed changes, while its rotational speed stays the same.