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
Sun and Moon (Middle-earth) for the Moon was the Silver Flower, and Gollum referred to it as the White Face. The Moon was more highly valued than the Sun by the Elves, both because it came from the Elder Tree, and because it rose first. In the universe of Middle-earth, the Moon was generally regarded as masculine, in recognition of Tilion. This gender corresponds with Máni, the personified moon in Norse mythology. In the early versions of "The Silmarillion" as described in "The Book of Lost Tales 1", a part of The History of Middle-earth series, the Sun was described in great detail as