Dark side of the moon: 55-year-old mystery solved

Dark side of the moon: 55-year-old mystery solved

Dark side of the moon: this is a composite image of the lunar farside taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in June 2009, note the absence of dark areas.

The Man in the Moon appeared when meteoroids struck Earth-facing side of the moon creating large flat seas of basalt that we see as dark areas called maria. But no "face" exists on farside of the moon and now, Penn State astrophysicists think they know why.

"I remember the first time I saw a globe of the moon as a boy, being struck by how different the farside looks," said Jason Wright, assistant professor of astrophysics. "It was all mountains and craters. Where were the maria? It turns out it's been a mystery since the fifties."

This mystery is called the Lunar Farside Highlands Problem and dates back to 1959, when the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 transmitted the first images of the "dark" side of the moon back to Earth. It was called the dark side because it was unknown, not because sunlight does not reach it. Researchers immediately noticed that fewer "seas" or maria existed on this portion of the moon that always faces away from Earth.

I came across this article & thought I would share it because I know I'm not the only one who has wondered about the Moon & why it is the way it is.
I think there was a user who was pretty interested in the difference between the Dark Side of the Moon & the side we see.

a reply to: Margana
so we have here one extreme high resolution pic, made by NASA for us?
and that's it?
THE PROOF?
cos Penn State astrophysicists think they know why?
but holding just ... THEORY?

but

55-year-old mystery solved

hahaha

that's a good one

originally posted by: ZakOlongapo
a reply to: Margana
so we have here one extreme high resolution pic, made by NASA for us?
and that's it?
THE PROOF?
cos Penn State astrophysicists think they know why?
but holding just ... THEORY?

but

55-year-old mystery solved

hahaha

that's a good one

For some unknown reason the text I included isn't showing up but when I hit edit, the text is all there.
Click on the link to read the article instead of making some wise ass comment.

a reply to: Margana

This is the missing text:

The Man in the Moon appeared when meteoroids struck Earth-facing side of the moon creating large flat seas of basalt that we see as dark areas called maria. But no "face" exists on farside of the moon and now, Penn State astrophysicists think they know why.

"I remember the first time I saw a globe of the moon as a boy, being struck by how different the farside looks," said Jason Wright, assistant professor of astrophysics. "It was all mountains and craters. Where were the maria? It turns out it's been a mystery since the fifties."

This mystery is called the Lunar Farside Highlands Problem and dates back to 1959, when the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 transmitted the first images of the "dark" side of the moon back to Earth. It was called the dark side because it was unknown, not because sunlight does not reach it. Researchers immediately noticed that fewer "seas" or maria existed on this portion of the moon that always faces away from Earth.

Wright, Steinn Sigurdsson, professor of astrophysics and Arpita Roy, graduate student in astronomy and astrophysics, and lead author of the study, realized that the absence of maria, which is due to a difference in crustal thickness between the side of the moon we see and the hidden side, is a consequence of how the moon originally formed.

www.sciencedaily.com...

I came across this article & thought I would share it because I know I'm not the only one who has wondered about the Moon & why it is the way it is.
I think there was a user who was pretty interested in the difference between the Dark Side of the Moon & the side we see.

a reply to: Margana

Not for nothing but, it's considered proper board etiquette to not just include a blurb from the linked article but to also include a few of your own thoughts as well. You've got to expect a little razzing if the entirety if your OP is comprised of a headline and a photo. It's rather lacking in substance in my humble opinion so perhaps editing the OP would be a better route than berating posters for pointing out the inadequacies of the OP.

originally posted by: peter vlar
a reply to: Margana

Not for nothing but, it's considered proper board etiquette to not just include a blurb from the linked article but to also include a few of your own thoughts as well. You've got to expect a little razzing if the entirety if your OP is comprised of a headline and a photo. It's rather lacking in substance in my humble opinion so perhaps editing the OP would be a better route than berating posters for pointing out the inadequacies of the OP.

last time I checked, there isn't a guide to the board etiquette for new people (like myself)

I stated that for some unknown reason the text that went along with the OP isn't showing up, despite it being visible in edit mode. That is why I included along with my two cents on the subject matter.

I believe it is proper board etiquette to read every post that has been said before criticizing some

originally posted by: Margana
Dark side of the moon: 55-year-old mystery solved

Looks like Photoshop, look at the center how it's spliced and merged together... plus it's not showing the atmosphere region covered with lakes, rivers and forests mountain ranges! The Nazi Moon Base has been completely Photoshop out!!!

originally posted by: Margana

last time I checked, there isn't a guide to the board etiquette for new people (like myself)

There is a forum called Board Business and Questions which can be found here- www.abovetopsecret.com...

Here is a thread with some pertinent information.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Just a starting point for you if ever you have questions.

I stated that for some unknown reason the text that went along with the OP isn't showing up, despite it being visible in edit mode. That is why I included along with my two cents on the subject matter.

Fir envy, but you can chill a little on the perceived snarky ness towards others who are just trying to point you in the right direction.

I believe it is proper board etiquette to read every post that has been said before criticizing some

If that was directed at me, look at the time stamps, we posted in succession so I couldn't have seen your post above mine until after I clicked reply and mine was posted. However, its also board etiquette to be aware of the basic ground rules before you begin wpaythoring threads. I'm not trying to be a jerk, just trying to help you out. Take it as you will.

I was curious about the thread based on the title and clicked the link. There wasn't anything but a picture and a link, of course people are going to chime in on the lack of content.

a reply to: Margana

Dumb question -

Why is the side that faces Earth being hit more than the back side of the moon? Would that not mean the items impacting were coming from the direction of the sun?

like I said.. dumb question so be nice people

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: Margana

Dumb question -

Why is the side that faces Earth being hit more than the back side of the moon? Would that not mean the items impacting were coming from the direction of the sun?

like I said.. dumb question so be nice people

If you read the article (the link to Science Daily), here is what it boils down to:

After the giant impact, the Earth was pretty much molten as was the debris that formed the moon. The moon was also much more closer to the Earth than it is now (10 to 20 times closer). It became tidally locked very quickly (so that the near side always faces the Earth).

Being smaller then the Earth, the moon cooled down more quickly, however, it's near side was being kept hot by the molten Earth (which being bigger took longer to cool down). However the far side of the moon, that faces away from Earth cooled more quickly then it's near side.

Because of the different temperature gradient between the two sides of the moon, the far side ended up having a much thicker crust...making it harder for meteor impacts to penetrate, compared to the thinner near side crust, which was easier to penetrate and allow molten material to flow out and help create the mares.

a reply to: Margana

can't say much on the basaltic lava angle,sounds like a good theory as any.
what i'm waiting for is someone to come and and claim that where i have the red arrow pointing to is a alien moon base or something like that.



see the thing in the crater, what can it be other than a moon base!

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: Margana

Dumb question -

Why is the side that faces Earth being hit more than the back side of the moon? Would that not mean the items impacting were coming from the direction of the sun?

like I said.. dumb question so be nice people

I'm not entirely sure myself so I'm just going to quote what the article said:

Earlier in its history, large meteoroids struck the nearside of the moon and punched through the crust, releasing the vast lakes of basaltic lava that formed the nearside maria that make up the man in the moon. When meteoroids struck the farside of the moon, in most cases the crust was too thick and no magmatic basalt welled up, creating the dark side of the moon with valleys, craters and highlands, but almost no maria.

I used to be up to date with astrology but that was when I was a child & before my life became hectic. Now I'm trying to catch up and all that I've missed out & get a better understanding of what I knew back then.

originally posted by: hounddoghowlie
a reply to: Margana

can't say much on the basaltic lava angle,sounds like a good theory as any.
what i'm waiting for is someone to come and and claim that where i have the red arrow pointing to is a alien moon base or something like that.

see the thing in the crater, what can it be other than a moon base!

Why? What is the point of waiting for someone to say something like that, so you can be mean to them? If that is the case, please go be mean in some other thread and not the one I created.

originally posted by: peter vlar

originally posted by: Margana

last time I checked, there isn't a guide to the board etiquette for new people (like myself)

There is a forum called Board Business and Questions which can be found here- www.abovetopsecret.com...

Here is a thread with some pertinent information.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Just a starting point for you if ever you have questions.

I stated that for some unknown reason the text that went along with the OP isn't showing up, despite it being visible in edit mode. That is why I included along with my two cents on the subject matter.

Fir envy, but you can chill a little on the perceived snarky ness towards others who are just trying to point you in the right direction.

I believe it is proper board etiquette to read every post that has been said before criticizing some

If that was directed at me, look at the time stamps, we posted in succession so I couldn't have seen your post above mine until after I clicked reply and mine was posted. However, its also board etiquette to be aware of the basic ground rules before you begin wpaythoring threads. I'm not trying to be a jerk, just trying to help you out. Take it as you will.

I was curious about the thread based on the title and clicked the link. There wasn't anything but a picture and a link, of course people are going to chime in on the lack of content.

Sorry it's hard to tell the tone with people online and if they are being hostile or not. Most of the time, at least on here, they are so I'm sorry interpreted what you were saying as being snarky.

It would have been nice to have had those threads pointed out to me when I first joined. This is my first time being a member of site with forums & threads. When I used to read the articles on here, I didn't really pay attention to the way the threads were created, I was more fascinated with the articles.

a reply to: Margana

Far side has more "visible" craters than the near side.

Astronomers believe that the moon has about the same amount of impacts on both sides, however the lava flows from the mares of the near side have covered many of them up.

So neither side actually "gets hit more often".

Both sides equally get hit. The Earth does not really shield the near side from impacts.

a reply to: eriktheawful

That is what the article stated too so I'm glad that you agree.
I don't always trust the articles I read but it is from Science Daily. I didn't want to say a for sure answer because I didn't know myself.

a reply to: Margana

Yes, there is. There are more than a few requirements and expectations you have failed to familiarize yourself with when you joined this private forum(not public, but members only with rules and T's and C's).

You should. You need to....

a reply to: Margana why is the picture split down the centre and rejoined? I can clearly notice 2 halves....any one else?

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: Margana

Dumb question -

Why is the side that faces Earth being hit more than the back side of the moon? Would that not mean the items impacting were coming from the direction of the sun?

like I said.. dumb question so be nice people

While the Moon is tidally locked to the Earth, it also orbits the Earth every 28 days, so technically the "dark side" of the Moon does get sunlight. There are times when it will be inside the Earth's orbit (dark side facing the Sun), and times that it is outside the Earth's orbit (dark side facing outer solar system).

But it does seem a bit strange, since both sides should have been equally hit as hard. Perhaps the Earth acted as a slingshot that made those impacts harder.

a reply to: scubagravy

I think it is a composite image. Which is an image composed of multiple images. We don't have a dedicated satellite behind the moon that is dedicated to taking a single low resolution image like this. It's been compiled likely through multiple passes around the moon, pasted together, for all we know there could be like 64+ some odd shots to added all together to get this shot. I'm not sure though because I downloaded it from sciencedaily & they said the image was from NASA.