Question

What is the effect of the Moon's synchronous orbit on the Moon?
A:The synchronous orbit appears to make the Moon more vulnerable to meteor strikes.
B:The light from the Sun reflects off of only one side of the Moon, always keeping one side dark.
C:We are only able to see the far side of the Moon during a rare event known as a blue moon.
D:There are times during the Moon's monthly orbit that the Moon is not visible.

Answer 1

Tidal locking results in the Moon rotating about its axis in about the same time it takes to orbit Earth. Except for libration, this results in the Moon keeping the same face turned toward Earth, as seen in the left figure. (The Moon is shown in polar view, and is not drawn to scale.)