The moon is a natural satellite of the Earth.Mysterious and beautiful, it has been attracting the eyes of astronomers from ancient times. Even then, many of its features were noticed: the phase change, the time of rising and setting, the duration of the lunar month. The ancient scientists noticed the consistency of the face of the night star. True, in those days they did not ask the question of why the Moon was turned to Earth by one side. For them, it was the only possible position, fully consistent with the prevailing beliefs about the structure of the sky.
Today things are a little different.Our ideas about the motion and interaction of space objects, supported by numerous observations, are very different from those in ancient times. And almost everyone from school knows why the Moon is turned to Earth on one side.
The beginning of history
Today, one of the secrets that the moonstubbornly does not want us to discover, this is its origin Various studies conducted to obtain a final answer to this question have so far generated several versions. According to one of them, the Moon and the Earth are sisters, formed at about the same time from a common protoplanetary cloud. This is supported by the results of radioisotope analysis, which made it possible to determine the same age of two cosmic bodies. However, there is evidence of large differences in the composition of our planet and its satellite. The version is being promoted to them: the Moon was formed somewhere far in space and, having approached the Earth, was captured by it. The hypothesis is also close to it, suggesting that several cosmic objects were attracted, which after some time collided and formed the Moon. Finally, there is a theory according to which our planet is rather a mother for its satellite: the Moon appeared as a result of the Earth’s collision with a huge body. The knocked-out part began to revolve in orbit around the “progenitress”.
System "satellite - planet"
Whatever the case, it’s known for certainthat the moon is a natural satellite of the earth. According to astronomical data, the night light at the time of its formation was located much closer to our planet. Moreover, it flew around the Earth faster and turned one way or the other. Such a situation is characteristic of the initial stage of the evolution of the satellite – planet system. An example of the outcome of the development of such a “relationship” is Pluto and its accompanying Charon. Both space bodies are always turned to each other by one side, their rotation is synchronized. But first things first.
Tidal acceleration
The young moon immediately began to affectEarth This was expressed in the formation of tidal waves in the newly emerging oceans, as well as in the crust. This impact has two main consequences. First, as a result of some features of the structure of the Earth and its rotation, the tidal wave is ahead of the Moon. The entire mass of our planet, enclosed in such waves, in turn, affects the satellite, gives it acceleration, and the Moon begins to move faster, gradually moving away from the Earth. Secondly, in this process, an oppositely directed force arises that inhibits the movement of continents. As a result, the speed of rotation of the Earth around the axis decreases, the length of the day increases.
The moon is about 4 cm away from our planet.in year. However, this is not an eternal process, and the probability of the Earth losing its satellite is negligible. The "escape" of the Moon will come to an end at the moment when the rotation of the Earth around the axis is synchronized with the movement of the satellite in orbit. In this case, our planet will always look at the night light by the same side.
Similar process
It is easy to assume that the answer to the question ofwhy the moon is turned to Earth by one side, is associated with a similar phenomenon. Indeed, the force of the Earth causes similar tidal waves in the bowels of the satellite. Since our planet is more massive, the strength of its impact is much more tangible. In obedience to it, the moon has long since synchronized its rotation with movement around the earth. As a result, the invisible side of the moon is always visible.
A little more than half
Attentive amateur astronomer fast enoughmay find that the face of the night luminary is still somewhat changing. The visible side of the moon does not occupy exactly half of it. The orbit of the night star deviates from the plane of rotation of the Earth around the Sun (ecliptic) by approximately 5 °. In addition, by 1.5 º relative to the trajectory of the Moon its axis is shifted. As a result, observations are available up to 6.5º above and below the poles of the satellite. This process is called libration of the lunar latitude. Similarly, the oscillation of the longitude of the satellite. To him leads a change in the speed of the moon, depending on the distance to the Earth. Due to this, the hidden part of the satellite is reduced, and the other side of the moon, illuminated, increases to 7º longitude. So it turns out that in total you can observe up to 59% of the lunar surface.
In the distant future
So the question of why the moon is always the sameside looks at the Earth, finds the answer in the peculiarities of the effect of the force of the planet on the satellite. However, as was said, a similar process after a certain time will lead to the fact that the Earth will look at the night light only with its one part, regardless of what phase the Moon is in. According to the calculations of John Darwin, the grandson of the founder of the theory of evolution, the duration of the day by this point will be equal to the fifty days we are used to. The distance separating the Earth and the Moon will increase by about one and a half times. This will be the very ideal state of the "satellite - planet" system.
Solar tides
There is, however, some possibility that the moonnever destined to achieve sufficient removal. The reason for this possibility lies in the solar tides. Daylight has a similar lunar impact on the planet and the satellite. If we include this fact in the theoretical construction of the future of the two cosmic bodies, it turns out that at a certain distance from the Earth, the Moon will again approach. This shortening of the distance will have devastating consequences. When the moon is at a distance of 2.9 times the radius of the Earth, it will be torn apart by the forces of gravity.
Another "but"
However, this picture may not be realized.The fact is that according to forecasts, the removal of the moon, then its approach and, finally, death will take several trillion years. During this time a catastrophe of a more serious scale can happen, at least for all living things on the planet. The Sun will go out, having exhausted all the reserves of stellar fuel. Following this, all the conditions of interaction in the planetary system of the star will change.
Study
The other side of the moon, inaccessibledirect observation, for a long time was a mystery, literally covered with darkness. Only the beginning of the space age gave the opportunity to get to know her better. The first aircraft that photographed about 70% of the surface of the hidden part was the Soviet "Luna-3". The pictures transmitted to Earth showed that the relief of the back side is somewhat different from the character of the visible surface. There were practically no plains of the seas. Only two such formations were discovered, subsequently named the Sea of Moscow and the Sea of Dreams.
Giant crater
In 1965 a spacecraft headed for the moonZond-3. He completed the survey of the invisible part of the satellite. The image of the remaining 30% of the surface only confirmed previous conclusions: the surface in this part is covered with craters and mountains, but there are practically no seas on it.
The most impressive size has one of the craters, which is located exactly on the dark side of the moon. Its length is 2,250 km, and its depth is 12 km.
Hypotheses
Сегодня тайны обратной стороны Луны во многом guessed. However, it is common for the human mind to fantasize about things and phenomena that are inaccessible to direct observation. Therefore, on the Internet, it is easy to meet the most bizarre hypotheses relating to the entire Moon as a whole or only to its side hidden from view. There are assumptions about the artificial origin of the satellite, its population by extraterrestrial intelligence and the intentional concealment of one of the parties. There are also references to the mysterious space base located on the dark part of the satellite. Similar versions are quite difficult both to confirm and refute. No matter how true or false they may be, they are based on the same reason that inspired people to explore space: the hope of finding in the vast expanses of the Universe the brethren of the mind, the desire to touch the unknown.
Однако сегодня достаточно точно известно, почему The moon is turned to Earth by one side. And the assumption of artificial origin has not received any serious continuation. The answer to this question has become as obvious as the understanding of what phase the moon is in today and why. It is impossible, however, to say that we know everything about the earth satellite and no discoveries are expected in the future. On the contrary, the night luminary to match the ancient deities who personified it, remains mysterious and in no hurry to share secrets. Humanity has yet to learn a lot of interesting things about the satellite of our planet. Perhaps a new stage of study, which began just recently, will bear fruit in the near future. It is absolutely certain that the implementation of some NASA projects is of great importance in this sense. Among them, "Avatar", which consists in the development of a telepresence costume. He will allow, being on Earth, with the help of robots to conduct experiments on the Moon. Great hopes are pinned on the colonization project, the implementation of which will result in the placement of a scientific base on the satellite of our planet.
