What is the effect of the Moon's synchronous orbit on the Moon?

Question

There are times during the Moon's monthly orbit that the Moon is not visible.

The synchronous orbit appears to make the Moon more vulnerable to meteor strikes.

The light from the Sun reflects off of only one side of the Moon, always keeping one side dark.

We are only able to see the far side of the Moon during a rare event known as a blue moon.

Answer 1

The Moon's synchronous orbit, also known as tidal locking, means that it rotates on its axis in the same amount of time that it takes to orbit the Earth. As a result, the same side of the Moon—commonly referred to as the near side—is always facing the Earth, while the opposite side—the far side—remains hidden from view.

From your statements, here are clarifications regarding the effects of the Moon's synchronous orbit:

1. "There are times during the Moon's monthly orbit that the Moon is not visible." - This is true in a sense, as the Moon goes through phases, and during the New Moon phase, the Moon is not visible from Earth due to its position between the Earth and the Sun. However, this phenomenon is not directly related to its synchronous orbit.

2. "The synchronous orbit appears to make the Moon more vulnerable to meteor strikes." - There isn't a direct connection between synchronous orbit and the vulnerability of the Moon to meteor strikes. The Moon's surface is subject to impacts from meteoroids based on its lack of atmosphere, but tidal locking itself does not increase vulnerability.

3. "The light from the Sun reflects off of only one side of the Moon, always keeping one side dark." - This statement is misleading. While the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth, both sides receive sunlight during a lunar day (which lasts about 29.5 Earth days). Therefore, the far side is not always dark; it receives light when the Moon is in a position such that the Sun shines on it.

4. "We are only able to see the far side of the Moon during a rare event known as a blue moon." - This is incorrect. The far side of the Moon is not visible from Earth due to tidal locking, not due to a rare event. The term "blue moon" refers to an extra full moon in a season and has no impact on our ability to see the far side of the Moon.

In summary, the effect of the Moon's synchronous orbit (tidal locking) mainly limits our ability to see the far side of the Moon from Earth, rather than affecting its vulnerability to impacts or its visibility.