Moonlight is also technically sunlight. Itâs being reflected by the surface of the moon back onto Earth. If you were on the dark side of the moon while Earth was still visible on that side, I wonder how bright it would be lit up from light reflecting off Earth.
The âdarkâ side of the moon is a bit of a weird thing, both linguistically and for its tidally locked orbit ^^
The moon revolves around earth at the same speed it revolves around its axis. This âtidal lockingâ means that it is always showing the same âfaceâ to the Earth, so that it doesnât appear to be rotating from our perspective.
timelapse showing the precession of the moon
This doesnât mean that one side is always dark and the other is exposed to the sun - just that instead of days, the moon has phases! So the situation of being âon the dark side of the moonâ while the Earth is visible is not possible, but earthlight is very much a thing.
FYI - "dark side of the moon" refers to the far side of the moon (that never faces Earth). Dark here has the same meaning as in dark energy: "unknown."
I have no answer to your actual question, but would also be interested.
floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com â¨3⊠â¨months⊠ago
Just regular sunlight. The ânightâ sky might throw off your intuition, but no atmosphere = no sky
Kolanaki@pawb.social â¨3⊠â¨months⊠ago
Moonlight is also technically sunlight. Itâs being reflected by the surface of the moon back onto Earth. If you were on the dark side of the moon while Earth was still visible on that side, I wonder how bright it would be lit up from light reflecting off Earth.
floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com â¨3⊠â¨months⊠ago
The âdarkâ side of the moon is a bit of a weird thing, both linguistically and for its tidally locked orbit ^^ The moon revolves around earth at the same speed it revolves around its axis. This âtidal lockingâ means that it is always showing the same âfaceâ to the Earth, so that it doesnât appear to be rotating from our perspective. timelapse showing the precession of the moon This doesnât mean that one side is always dark and the other is exposed to the sun - just that instead of days, the moon has phases! So the situation of being âon the dark side of the moonâ while the Earth is visible is not possible, but earthlight is very much a thing.
antler@feddit.online â¨3⊠â¨months⊠ago
FYI - "dark side of the moon" refers to the far side of the moon (that never faces Earth). Dark here has the same meaning as in dark energy: "unknown."
I have no answer to your actual question, but would also be interested.
Kolanaki@pawb.social â¨3⊠â¨months⊠ago
Is there another way to describe the side that isnât currently facing the sun? đ¤