Man in the Moon then cooled, becoming smooth, basalt rock. The near side of the Moon, containing these maria that make up the man, is always facing Earth. This is due to a tidal locking or synchronous orbit. Thought to have occurred because of the gravitational forces partially caused by the Moon's oblong shape, its rotation has slowed to the point where it rotates exactly once on each trip around the Earth. This causes the near side of the Moon to always turn its face toward Earth. Man in the Moon The Man in the Moon refers to any of several pareidolic images of
Union of the Sun and Moon be assured a rebirth in a natural nirmanakaya realm during the bardo of becoming and there reveal buddhahood without further rebirths." Namkha'i and Shane (1986, 1999: p. 91) open the discourse of the 'Song of the Vajra' (Wylie: rdo rje'i glu zhig) an excerpt of the "Union of the Sun and Moon" into the English language and render it thus: <poem> Union of the Sun and Moon The Union of the Sun and Moon () is one of the Seventeen tantras of the esoteric instruction cycle () which are a suite of tantras known variously as: Nyingtik, Upadesha or Menngagde