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 on Earth as a partial lunar eclipse, unlike the Earth where a total eclipse only occurs in a small spot while the remainder of a solar eclipse are total, on the Moon, a part is shown as partial and a part is shown is total as the center of the Earth's shadow's coverage totality is more larger than the Moon on Earth. In some eclipses, about 15-20% of a surface of the moon covered by the center of the Earth's shadow sees totality where the Earth eclipses the sun, some eclipses has about 75-80% of the surface covered by the