Timeline for How is this picture of the moon possible?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 28, 2022 at 21:31 | comment | added | Don Branson | Having said this, I'm not convinced people say "dark side" really thinking that the far side of the Moon is in constant darkness. It seems like most everyone who's graduated high school is going to know this. | |
| Feb 28, 2022 at 21:17 | comment | added | Don Branson | @TechInquisitor we are tiny, but we are mighty. Soon all will know. Apparently, all will know about the dark side. That didn't come out the way I intended. | |
| Feb 28, 2022 at 21:04 | comment | added | Tech Inquisitor | @hobbs It might be the whole issue. To me, the question immediately suggests this misconception. | |
| Feb 28, 2022 at 21:02 | comment | added | hobbs | @TechInquisitor I wrote it the way I did to try to avoid the whole issue. :) | |
| Feb 28, 2022 at 20:48 | comment | added | Tech Inquisitor | @DonBranson I know this, and you know this, but we are a tiny minority. | |
| Feb 28, 2022 at 20:46 | comment | added | Tech Inquisitor | @J.G. My point is that many people call them the "dark" and "light" sides; in fact, this is probably the most common terminology among the general population. And I've encountered many people who think these are literal descriptions. (Among other amazing things, like adults who never noticed that the moon can be out during the day. Thanks, cartoons where the sun sets and a crescent moon pops up.) The answer would be improved by mentioning this common source of confusion. | |
| Feb 28, 2022 at 20:35 | comment | added | Don Branson | The word "dark" is a has multiple meanings, one of which means "hidden." For example, "a dark secret." When people refer to the "dark side" of the Moon, they're using this definition, not the definition meaning "lack of light." | |
| Feb 28, 2022 at 19:30 | comment | added | J.G. | @TechInquisitor You presumably mean the far and near sides. We could define dark and light to match their names and thus make you wrong, but then they wouldn't be constant halves, because the Moon is tidally locked to Earth, not the Sun. This is part of why people try not to use the dark/light terms with either meaning. | |
| Feb 28, 2022 at 19:13 | comment | added | Tech Inquisitor | It might be worth mentioning that the "dark side" of the moon is not perpetually dark, and the "light side" is not perpetually light. | |
| Feb 27, 2022 at 10:00 | comment | added | David Hammen | This is by far the best answer. The Moon always shadows half of itself, and we're seeing only the shadowed side at new Moon, and mostly the shadowed side a few days before and after new Moon. Short and sweet. | |
| Feb 26, 2022 at 23:54 | history | answered | hobbs | CC BY-SA 4.0 |