OK they say it does, how do you prove it if I only ever see one side of it?????

---

> OK they say it does, how do you prove it if I only ever see one side of
> it?????
>

Guess the answer lies within the question: if it wouldn't you would see all of it.

---

BOTH are right to a point. the moon does turn but it turns at close to the same speed as is rotation time around our planet. then again it isn't perfect. it still hasn't slowed to the point that its spin equals it's rotation perfectly, but it does have to spin in order for the same side to face us all the time within our lifetime.
If it didn't spin at all then as it rotated around us then people on the oposite side of the world would see the opposite side of the moon that we see...RIGHT.
IF you take 2 marbles in your hand and lay them on the floor. Put one in a center position and don't touch it( that is Earth. don't touch it we don't want to upset things here) take the other marble(moon. the mystery marble) and move it in a circle around the other with the other hand (left hand)you will see that for one side of the of the marble in your left hand to face the center marble at all times that the marble in your left hand would have to rotate.So yes it does rotate!
You also asked how to prove it.
It has been proven many times over with many different methods.
we can see this side of the moon with our very own eyes. binaculars and telescopes help.
Apollo missions have orbited the moon and seen the backside( did you know there is no DARK side of the moon?) It is very well marked by meteor crators. The side that we see all the time has very few crators in comparision.If it rotated slower or faster than it's rotation period then we would see other areas of the moon.
we also have planted light reflectors dureing the Apollo missions in the "dirt" of the moon that from earth we can shine lasers into that reflect back to us.
we can track rotation of the moon and other things such as frame dragging and those same reflectors have been used recently to test Einstiens theories on frame dragging.
I hope I have answered your question if not then say so. we also have a thread that may answer some other questions that you may have in the "Space and Science Trivia" thread. please don't be reluctant to ask questions there.

<A><B> Hi .... Terrorhertz </B>[/url]
<A><B> Hi .... Fisches </B>[/url]
<A><B> Hi .... Lou Manz </B>[/url]

from .... friendly and respectful ...... byron


The asymmetric nature of this gravitational interaction is also responsible for the fact that the Moon rotates synchronously, i.e. it is locked in phase with its orbit so that the same side is always facing toward the Earth. Just as the Earth's rotation is now being slowed by the Moon's influence so in the distant past the Moon's rotation was slowed by the action of the Earth, but in that case the effect was much stronger. When the Moon's rotation rate was slowed to match its orbital period (such that the bulge always faced toward the Earth) there was no longer an off-center torque on the Moon and a stable situation was achieved. The same thing has happened to most of the other satellites in the solar system. Eventually, the Earth's rotation will be slowed to match the Moon's period, too, as is the case with Pluto and Charon.

Read more here: ........ <B>http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html</B>

The tidal effects of sun and earth have degenerated the moon's rotation to match its revolution around the earth. There appears to be a slight wobble, though, in part due to the eccentricity of the moon's orbit. This site has a gif showing the wobble and a brief explanation of it.

Inconstant Moon

Scroll down to the heading "A different point of view".

BTW, best illustration of what the moon would be like if it didn't rotate at all is to hold a compass in your hand and watch it while you turn in a circle. Since the needle or dial constantly points in one direction, you at the center see every part of it in one turn. That doesn't happen with the moon.

> <A><B> Hi .... Terrorhertz </B>[/url]
> <A><B> Hi .... Fisches </B>[/url]
> <A><B> Hi .... Lou Manz </B>[/url]
>
> from .... friendly and respectful ...... byron
>
>
> The asymmetric nature of this gravitational interaction is also responsible
> for the fact that the Moon rotates synchronously, i.e. it is locked in phase
> with its orbit so that the same side is always facing toward the Earth. Just
> as the Earth's rotation is now being slowed by the Moon's influence so in the
> distant past the Moon's rotation was slowed by the action of the Earth, but in
> that case the effect was much stronger. When the Moon's rotation rate was
> slowed to match its orbital period (such that the bulge always faced toward
> the Earth) there was no longer an off-center torque on the Moon and a stable
> situation was achieved. The same thing has happened to most of the other
> satellites in the solar system. Eventually, the Earth's rotation will be
> slowed to match the Moon's period, too, as is the case with Pluto and Charon.
>
>
> Read more here: ........ <a> href="http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html"><B>http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html</B>[/url]
>
>
>
Wouldn't you love to take a swing with a 9 iron in the centre of the large crater, teriffic photograph Byron made my day, now back to the question does the moon spin, thank you all for your input I think I get the picture now, I was under the impression that from a different point on the globe you would see a different view of the moon but now I can see that due to the synchronous nature of it's orbit this is not the case.

Next question, how long is a piece of string??

---

So many sports would be kinda dull without air. In golf, the ball's spin would be pretty much irrelevant. Same with baseball. Archery would be impossible due to the minute yaw that friction puts on the shaft that would have been taken out by the now useless fletching, and even if it were stabilized there's no windage to consider. But I guess, with the increased distances you'd be setting things, the prize still goes to the one with the best eyesight and steadiest hand.

>Wouldn't you love to take a swing with a 9 iron in the centre of the large >crater,
Lou,
Someone already has. he used a standard 6-iron head though.
I posted a trivia question in my thread just for you on this subject.
Click [url=http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=11429]here<a> to see it.