SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/far-side-of-moon-not-dark

Is the "dark side of the moon" always dark?

No. It's the far side, and it gets just as much sunlight.

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The Just Right card

Too littleOne side never sees the sun
Too muchThe moon has no dark at all
Just rightFar side we can't see, sunlit half the time

Huh, didn't know that: During a new moon, when our side looks dark, the far side is in full sunlight.

The dad joke
When is the moon the heaviest? When it's full.
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References

Answer: No, it's the far side, and it gets sunlight too. The moon always shows Earth the same face, so we never see the other side. But the moon spins, so the sun shines on that far side just as much.

  1. NASA StarChild: The Dark Side of the Moon starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/dark_side.html
    The side of the Moon we do not see from Earth gets just as much sunlight on it as the side we do see.
    Checked 2026-10-09.
  2. NASA Science: Moon Facts science.nasa.gov/moon/facts
    a "new moon" occurs when the far side of the Moon has full sunlight
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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That's stuff everyone should know.