Far side of the moon 'could have been visible from earth'

Telegraph ^ | 1/21/09 | Kate Devlin

[LibWhacker]

The far side of the moon could have been visible from earth billions of years ago, a new study suggests.

The relative rotations of the moon and the earth mean that only the one side is ever visible.

However, scientists believe that the impact of a large asteroid hitting the moon could have flipped it around, turning a different side that we now see towards earth.

A study of craters on the far side of the moon suggests that it was hit by a large object around 3.9 billion years ago.

[period end of story]

Must-resist-to-make-Pink Floyd-reference.

[truemiester]

I read that a long time ago (tens of millions of years) the moon was further away and rotated as it went around the Earth. As the moon is falling in to the earth (tens of bilions of years to impact) the moon became tidal lcked to the earth.

[gondramB]

>>Far side of the moon ‘could have been visible from earth’<<

I’m pretty sure there was nobody here to see it 3.9 billion years ago.

[Straight Vermonter]

Ping

[fieldmarshaldj]

"I’m pretty sure there was nobody here to see it 3.9 billion years ago."

Don't be so sure.

[death2tyrants]

After millions of dollars in federal grants and extensive research, scientists at the University of Berkley concluded that it might look something like this:

[DainBramage]

The moon is dark all the time. If it was born half dark and half white it is considered dark on both sides.

And non muslim.

[tvdog12345]

Actually, in the past the moon was closer than it is now. Tidal forces are pushing it further away. The moons of Mars, on the other hand, are getting closer to it and will break up or hit Mars in some tens of millions of years.

Any object in orbit beyond synchronous orbit will move further away with time. Any object closer will eventually break up or crash into the planet it is orbiting.

[wally_bert]

[bill1952]

What Senator had that "Golden Fleece Award?" Helms?

This ranks right up there with the most useless semi-facts of all times, not to mention the most egregious waste of time and money list...

[sunny48]

This is a picture taken by Voyager 1 in 1990 as it sailed away from Earth, more than 4 billion miles in the distance

http://www.bigskyastroclub.org/pale_blue_dot.html

[NCC-1701]

“...What Senator had that “Golden Fleece Award?” Helms?...”

Not Helms. William Proxmire.

[bill1952]

Thanks!

[LibWhacker]

I go to the far side of the Sun every six months. :-)

[SunkenCiv]

In the shadow of the Moon
New Scientist | 30 January 1999 | editors
Posted on 08/31/2004 8:42:25 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1203912/posts

When the Days Were Shorter
Alaska Science Forum (Article #742) | November 11, 1985 | Larry Gedney
Posted on 10/04/2004 10:31:59 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1234919/posts

[SunkenCiv]

· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic ·

[Eaker]

about 3.9 billion years ago

Not "about" 4 billion?

[SunkenCiv]

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126924.800-did-the-moons-far-side-once-face-earth.html

[snip] According to earlier computer simulations, the moon’s western hemisphere as viewed from Earth should have about 30 per cent more craters than the eastern hemisphere. That’s because the west always faces in the direction in which the moon orbits, which makes it more likely to be hit by debris, for the same reason that more raindrops strike a moving car’s front windshield than its rear. [end]

BTW, that explanation doesn’t make any sense. The moon’s faces are approximately equally likely to receive an impact — when the Moon gets one from behind (so to speak) the crater would just be a bit smaller (all other things being equal, and they probably never are).

[SunkenCiv]

additional, from the files:

Physics News Update Number 16 (Story #2)
by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein
January 10, 1991

The far side of the Moon, impossible to see from the Earth, was recently photographed by the Galileo spacecraft on its way toward Jupiter. New information about the mineralogical composition of the far side's crust was recorded and pictures revealed the largest impact basin yet seen on the moon, more than 2000 km in diameter and so deep that is may have penetrated through the crust to the moon's mantle. (Eos, January 1, 1991.)