Why do we only ever see one side of the moon? The moon completes one rotation around its own axis in the same amount of time it orbits earth. The two are perfectly in sync! But it wasn’t always that way... When the moon formed, likely from a collision with earth, it was a hot molten object spinning wildly, changing shape, pulled by Earth’s gravity. As it settled into its orbit, Earth’s gravity pulled on its closer edge, making it into an oval shape. This created an uneven pull as it rotated on its axis. Over time this constant tug on the Moon’s bulge… caused its rotation to slow, and eventually match Earth’s… This is “tidal locking,” an effect that’s actually quite common and found in most large moons in our solar system. Because of this, humanity didn’t see the back of our own moon until 1959. And turns out it looks COMPLETELY different! If you want to know WHY, subscribe! #shorts #animation #moon #science #technology #historyfacts
