Near side of the Moon Near side of the Moon 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
Partial/total eclipses on the Moon Partial/total eclipses on the Moon Partial/total Solar eclipses on the Moon are caused when the Earth passes in front of the Sun, blocking a part its light in one part and the whole light in the other. Viewers on Earth will see a partial lunar eclipse. During its eclipses, the Earth will be in new phase, completely dark, except for moonshine and sunlight refracted through the earth's atmosphere, visible as a ring of light. The next partial-total solar eclipse on the Moon will be partial-total on August 7, 2017 with the southern portion of the Southern Hemisphere seeing totality. Seen