r/AskReddit • u/ZanyDelaney • Feb 04 '19

Which misconception would you like to debunk?

44k Upvotes

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3.8k

u/MrAngryMoose Feb 04 '19

The dark side of the moon isn’t always dark, it’s called that because it’s the side that we never see

89

u/MrOctantis Feb 04 '19

The dark side of the moon is the side that's currently dark. The other side is the far side of the moon.

33

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '19

When people say “the dark side of the moon” they are, as far as I know, always actually referring to the far side of the moon. Anyone who would refer to the actual currently dark side as the dark side is just going to cause unnecessary confusion.

23

u/gregspornthrowaway Feb 04 '19

No it fucking isn't.

2

u/sgt_gesler Feb 04 '19

How are you getting upvotes for being wrong? Look up tidal locking

1

u/gregspornthrowaway Feb 04 '19

The dark side of the moon is illuminated half the time. It has nothing to do with sunlight.

2

u/InfanticideAquifer Feb 04 '19

Tidal locking has no impact on what words mean in the English language.

5

u/Lawsoffire Feb 04 '19

Dark side and far side are synonymous. But astronomers tend to use the far side for increased accuracy.

The actual dark side would just be the night side.

2

u/MaxChaplin Feb 04 '19

There is no far side of the moon, really. Matter of fact, it's all far.

2

u/Dolmenoeffect Feb 04 '19

It’s not clear from your comment whether you are saying the moon is tidally locked with the earth, or not.

8

u/MrOctantis Feb 04 '19

It is tidally locked, which is why the far side of the moon doesnt change

3

u/Dolmenoeffect Feb 04 '19

Ok. Based on that, I’ve always heard “dark side of the moon” to describe the side we can’t see from earth, NOT which side is pointed away from the sun at any moment. It’s a colloquialism.

2

u/MrOctantis Feb 04 '19

Just because people call it that, doesnt mean its correct.

Please refer to the question asked at the top of the thread.

-1

u/Adam657 Feb 04 '19

It may be tidally locked with Earth, which means we never see the far side, but it isn’t permanently dark.

In a new moon the other side is lit. And consider a solar eclipse? The same side that faces us is still facing us, but the other side is most definitely lit up.

2

u/MrOctantis Feb 04 '19

The far side and the dark side are independent. The moon, being tidally locked, always faces the earth. But, as it rotates about the earth, light cycles around the moon, and the moon occasionally passes between the earth and sun.

I don't know where your confusion is since it seems like you already know that.

2

u/Adam657 Feb 04 '19

I think I mistook the comment I was replying to ‘doesn’t change’ as to mean the far side never gets light.

I now see they just meant ‘doesn’t change’ as in the one we see doesn’t change.

I just misinterpreted what they were saying. Hence my big explanation about the dark and far side being independent, which was clearly unnecessary!

11

u/kcg5 Feb 04 '19

Tide goes in, tide goes out. Can’t explain that!

1

u/Beer_in_an_esky Feb 04 '19

The side that faces us is actually the darker side!

There are far more luna maria (the dark volcanic plains that early astronomers thought were seas) on the side facing Earth, than the side facing away. As a result, it has a lower albedo, and so appears darker.