Moon from Earth. View from Earth of the full Moon in a pitch black sky. The Moon does not produce its own light, but it can be seen because it reflect

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Moon from Earth. View from Earth of the full Moon in a pitch black sky. The Moon does not produce its own light, but it can be seen because it reflects the light of the sun. The dark areas, or 'seas', are the remains of ancient plains of lava. The craters visible are the result of meteorite impacts. Earth has been similarly bombarded, but weathering has destroyed most of the evidence. The Moon's mass is unevenly distributed and Earth's gravity pulls the heavy parts more strongly than it does the lighter parts. This means that the Moon does not spin freely and that the heavier half, with its familiar 'Man in the Moon' appearance, always faces Earth.

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Size: 2516px × 3543px
Photo credit: © DAVID NUNUK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: astronomy, cosmology, full, lunar, moon, planetary, science