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The Dark Side of the Moon

While it makes for a great album title, the dark side of the moon is simply a myth. As the moon rotates around the Earth, and the Earth around the sun, the moon is exposed to the sun’s light just as the Earth is. It’s easy to see why people think one side of the moon is always in the dark, because it is tidally locked, the same side of the moon is always exposed to the Earth. However the 28-day lunar cycle means that at some point, every side of the moon is exposed to sunlight. This can be seen with the lunar phases, as during a new moon, the side of the moon exposed to sunlight it the opposite side that is exposed to the Earth. There simply is no ever-dark side of the moon, and it’s not because it’s all dark, as Pink Floyd claims.  


@AdaMcVean

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