There is a concept I cannot grasp no matter how it is explained. I get the idea but I can't 'get it' if that makes sense. We only ever see one side of the moon. I am told it has to do with synchronous rotation. I understand what is meant, but it all seems a bit abnormal; as if the Earth and the Moon go about their business in perfect harmony. We know this can't be true unless there is a law that makes it so. Surely there must be some rotational anomaly at some time to put it out of sync. If anyone can explain in ABC language that would be great.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Imagine holding a tether ball by it's string. Hold the string and start spinning around, the only part of that ball you will be able to see is the side with the hook that's attached to the string.
No matter how long you spin you will only see the side attached to the string. That's what out moon does, we only see the one side. I don't consider the moon to actually be rotating for that fact but technically it is.
AlanRathburn
Level 5
June 30, 2018
1
We also live on planet where, by pure coincidence, the mass of our star and its distance from us are almost exactly inverse to that of our moon, so that the two appear to be about the same size, as reflected in the ancient Egyptian belief that the sun and moon were each one of the eyes of Horus, the falcon-headed god.
moNOtheist
Level 7
June 30, 2018
0
Okay. Thanks. I didn't know about the Eye of Horus idea.
As I understand it, the moon is not a perfect sphere (what is) and is slightly heavier on the side faces the Earth for that reason. I think NASA had to do some recalculating when they went around the Moon to brake to get to landing sites. Isn't it fun to listen to a History major try to explain science?
DougTElmira
Level 6
June 28, 2018
1
Fantastic! I can understand that.
There are generally two types of rotation an object, spinning ( think of the globe trotters spinning a basketball on their finger) and an object rotating around another object (think of a yo-yo being swung around on a string). Essentially spinning is when the axis of rotation runs through an object at a special location. Other rotations mean the axis of rotation is not in one of those special locations. However, it is possible to have multiple axes of rotation for a system: you swing the yo-yo around your finger all the while it spins about its own axis.
Now what would happen if the rate at which the object is spinning was the same as the rate at which the same object rotated around another: imagine you drew an arrow that pointed towards your finger on the yo-yo and were able to make it rotate it in such a way that that arrow always pointed towards you finger as it spins.
This is what has happened with the Earth and moon and this is known as being tidally locked. In order for there to be “rotational anomaly” there would have to be a way for the Earth-Moon system to exchange what is know as angular momentum: which are basically spin and orbital (what I called more general rotations earlier). The system is actually very slowly losing angular momentum which is the moon moves further away as time passes. one time, it is thought that the moon was much closer than it currently is and it is likely that at one point it was not tidally locked to Earth. Hope this has helped!
Edit: Also the earth and moon don’t go about their business in perfect harmony because there are no such things as perfectly rigid bodies: the earth and moon are not perfect spheres which allows them to lose angular moment so their business is quite dynamic even though those dynamics take place on much larger timescales than the human life-span. I won’t go into hardcore math about it, but there is more to the story than is most often told. The answer that you’re seeking basically lays with understanding angular momentum.
Edit 2: Actually I conflated the slowing of earth’s rotation with the moons radial distance: the moon is actually moving further from earth not closer! Here’s more about it from someone smarter than me.
Wavefunction
Level 5
June 28, 2018
3
Thanks tidal lock is easy for me to understand! So over the course of time, as the moon moves further away, the tidal lock will be released and we may see the other side, one thousands of years down the track?
@Geoffrey51 that part is hard to say, it depends on whether the system overall loses or gains angular momentum in the future and wether the earth eventually loses enough angular moment so that the rotation rates are no longer the same between the moon’s orbit and it’s rotation (assuming the angular momentum of the moon stays relatively the same). I’m not a solar scientist so my knowledge of this is rather limited. Even if this does happen it’s likely it will take tens of millions if not a couple billion years so definitely no time soon. As difficult as it might seem to think, a thousand years is nothing on planetary or solar time scales.
@Wavefunction I won't start planning my "Dark Side Of The Moon Becomes Illuminated" party just yet then. 
There's loads of stuff out there, maybe this will help.......or you're just a lunatic
ipdg77
Level 8
June 28, 2018
4
That is perfect! Thanks
#FlatMoon
mattersauce
Level 7
June 28, 2018
4
don't even joke.....there are idiots who WILL believe that! (and some that probably already do!) LOL
@SkotlandSkye You kidding me, I just thought up the new conspiracy and this one's got legs!
Jnei:
Those of us who grew up in early-1980s Britain are already well-aware that the moon is flat.
@mattersauce The moon has legs? OMG! Wait 'til I tell my...................
@Jnei hahahav my daughter loved Button Moon. We went to the stage show and I csn concur, the moon is certainly flat. Mr Spoon said so!
@Countrywoman ....and made of cheese. Don't believe all this moondust nonsense. Its grated parmesan, the Man In The Moon's dandruff.
we were not alive at the time and did not have the capacity to view the experience. There is a date recorded in antiquity that refers to the sun setting twice and some other anomaly. Several civilizations spoke of this same event at the same time in there recorded history. Well documented. It is believed that a planetary sized object passed by and disrupted Earths rotation. The Earth stopped its rotation and began to rotate backwards for 10 hrs or so as speculated by scientists. This would have caused the anomaly.
Also the melting of glacial ice and a pole shift will cause the the Earths rotation to malfunction. They know pole shifts have occurred and we are due for another. It is projected some 800,000 years since our last pole reversal.
They know that their was some massive event in and around 10 to 12,000 BC that changed the tilt of the Earths Axis to its current placement. It is speculated that the polar ice melt displaced the weight transacted upon the Earth and dispersed its weight onto the planet instead of one region.
With the moon being 238k miles away or so I would venture to say no civilization had means of viewing. However ancient civilizations were well aware of the procession of equinox, the Great Year, Zodiac Constellations, and Planetary bodies. An ancient Stella from the Sumerians depicts the Sun and 9 planetary bodies circling. Pluto was not discovered until 1930's, they call Earth the 7th planet, and they are considered to be the founders of civilizations 4800 to 3800 BC respectively.
Not exactly what you are looking for, but might give some fuel to the fire in the eyes of men.
Etre
Level 7
June 28, 2018
1
Jnei:
I'm not too sure about this "The Earth stopped its rotation and began to rotate backwards for 10 hrs or so" business as, were the planet to stop rotating, the atmosphere due to being a fluid would for a significant time continue to do so - rotate a glass filled with liquid (water will do but wine is better, especially if you plan to drink it afterwards) to see this effect. Since the Earth's rotational speed is approximately 460 metres per second, roughly 1000mph (not 900mph, as Monty Python had it), this would create a surface wind speed comfortably more than three times faster than the fastest ever recorded - enough to cause a mass extinction of non-subterranean animals (there is no record of such an event in antiquity) and sufficient to leave very noticeable traces in both the archaeological and geological record (again, there is none).
Etre:
@Jnei
hey, I did not say it was correct, but that is the speculation, i am just repeating what I read. yes you are right..... 1000 mph, 24k miles , 24 hours in a day, agreed.... it could be that I misstated, it could be something entirely different, but the sources say that this event occurred and was recorded by at least 15 civilizations..... i will try to find the date.... give me some time... jnei... nicely stated.
Etre:
@Jnei
They are saying it was a planetary object bigger than earth, maybe jupiter sized that came through...... there is a current hypothesis on a planetary object lurking in our solar system. Models predict it, but it has not been located...... Several A list Astronomers have spoken on the topic of the Planet, not the historical stuff, just the presence of an unknown large planet in our solar system.
Jnei:
@Etre Historians and archaeologists around the world spend their entire careers methodically studying historical data. There is, of course, plenty more to be discovered, hence we still train new historians and archaeologists - but an event such as the slowing, halting and reversal of the Earth's rotation would be a major event rather than an everyday occurrence - were there any historical traces of it happening, it would have been noticed.
Etre:
@Jnei
Sure, Very True..... they hypothesize that it is what happened.... some of the statements from ancient civilizations where the sun set then rose again, the sun did this or that , something on this day happened, and this group of scientist put this theory out there, from like 2011, i am soon to be home and in a place to go through the data and be more factual on what was stated. I know it sounds off, but i am sure something happened on this day. And Yes Historians and Archaeologist are dedicated. But there is valid information that is hid or ignored from public consciousness, not on this matter so to speak of, but most definitely in Historical, Anthropological, and Archaeological sites that cannot be explained in the common social consciousness and much of this has to do with Christianity. I know you will challenge on this but I can prove with factual data. It might take some people out of there comfort zone, but I am always up to a good conversation. I like the way you think.
lol, remember that time the Earth's rotation stopped and everyone fell over? Just having fun Etre.
Now that would make the history books, seriously though wouldn't a large comet be a better explanation for such an event as the Sun setting twice?
Excellent thank you. Curiously, the first ritual burials I.e. To include grave goods is around 12,000 ago I belief.
@Etre it certainly seems there was an event, then. As with all oral culture it was probably recorded as art of the oral tradition. May be worth looking at recordings of contemporary cultures at that time by their descendants and looking for commonalitrs. amongst their recorded folk tales.
Etre:
@Geoffrey51
Excellent Idea, and this collective group of Scientist are doing just that, I will try to find the group.... nice.
Etre:
@MacTavish, @Geoffrey51, @Jnei
Their was something new I heard in a joe rogan pod cast with Neil, and he was talking about models and his colleges detecting something,... so let me get the facts...
Etre:
@Jnei, @Geoffrey51
So this is a coast to coast cast from a while back but that scientist is on here good info, gets to good to our topic around 30minutes. Coast to Coast has some very valid shows, and some not so valid. But I find it a welcome source for nontraditional ideas, and frankly Einstein's theories where not excepted, he was not well received. I keep my mind open and look at all variables that are plausable. I have found tons of plausable and valid theories on Coast.
Etre:
@Jnei, @Geoffrey51
Here is the podcast, but its not the full trying to locate the full cast....
Etre:
@Geoffrey51, @Jnei
They are phase locked. The same side of the Moon always faces the Earth. It’s as if the Earth is in the center of a merry-go-round and the Moon is on the outer edge facing inward.
indirect76
Level 7
June 28, 2018
1
it rotates on its axis st the same rate it rotates the Earth.
FreethoughtKaty
Level 7
June 28, 2018
2
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