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Credit & Copyright: Apollo 11 Crew,
NASA
Explanation:
The far side of the
Moon is rough and filled with
craters.
By comparison, the near side of the
Moon, the side we always see,
is relatively smooth.
Since the Moon is rotation locked to always point the
same side toward
Earth, humanity has only glimpsed the
lunar farside recently -- last century.
The light highlands of the
far side are older than the dark
Maria of the near side.
A thinner crust on the near side that allowed for more dark
lava flows is thought to be the cause of
differences between the two sides.
The cause for the crust thickness differences is still being researched, however.
The large impact basin pictured above is
Crater 308.
It spans about 30 kilometers and
was photographed by crew of
Apollo 11 as they circled the Moon in 1969.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon - lunar farside
Publications with words: Moon - lunar farside
See also: