A lot of people on our planet noticed that the Moon never changes its "face", and that it keeps the same side as Earth goes through the Moon's orbit. So many people have a question: does the Moon rotate? Yes, it does, even if it is hard to believe in according to what we see.
The 'dark' side of the moon
The Moon goes into Earth's orbit every 27.3 days. Approximately the same amount of time - 27 days - is needed for the Moon to move around on its axis. That's why the Moon seems to stand still and show only its "face" to us from Earth. In science this phenomenon is defined as "synchronous rotation".
The side of the Moon that we can see all the time is commonly known as the near side. Another side is called the far side. You can often meet a name the dark side of the Moon, but it is wrong to call it this way. When the Moon is located between the Sun and our planet the far side of the moon is fully illuminated.
However, the rotation and the orbit are not precisely agreed. The Moon goes around Earth in an orbit of elliptical shape, not perfect circle one. When the Earth and the Moon are as close as they can be, the Moon rotates in a slower tempo, so people on the eastern side of the Earth can even see some extra 8 degrees. When the Earth and the Moon are as far as they can be, the Moon rotates in a faster tempo, and people on the western side see on 8 degrees more Moon than usually.
If you'd had a possibility to walk the far side of the Moon, as astronauts from Apollo 8 had, you'd notice absolutely another surface of the Moon comparing to the one we are used to see. The far side of the Moon has lots of black plain pools from former solidified lava - marias, and this side has more craters.
