The Moon’s Two Faces Don’t Match, And We Think We Know Why

The above two-faced mosaic from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the near side (left) and the far side (right) of the Moon with modern technology. By looking at the ratios and sizes of craters found on the Moon with respect to the age of that portion of the Moon, Mars, Mercury, and Earth, we can learn how cratering rates have varied over the Solar System’s history. Now, with our first samples from the lunar far side having been returned to Earth, we might finally learn more about the Moon’s ultimate origins. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

The far side of the Moon is incredibly different from the Earth-facing side. 66 years later, we know why the Moon’s faces are not alike.

The near side of the Moon has faced Earth for practically all of the last 4.5 billion years. Earth’s inhabitants have gazed upon its iconic mountains, craters, and dark maria (basins) for all of history.

But in 1959, humanity finally flew a spacecraft around the Moon to the opposite side, the far side of the Moon, and saw a face that was entirely different, and virtually unrecognizable.

For more than half a century, we’ve puzzled as to why these two sides of the same planetary body were so different. Thanks to the physics of early Earth, we might finally have the answer. Follow the link below to read more.

(Source: Big Think)