“The moon has a dark side that never sees the sun.”

Many people believe there's a perpetually unlit "dark side" of the moon, a mysterious hemisphere that remains forever shrouded in shadow. This isn't quite right. While it's true that one side of the moon is never visible from Earth, this "far side" experiences just as much sunlight as the side we see. The misconception likely stems from the term "dark side" being misinterpreted to mean "never lit," rather than "unseen."

The moon is tidally locked with Earth, meaning its rotation period is the same as its orbital period around our planet. This phenomenon causes the same hemisphere of the moon to always face us, leading to the familiar lunar phases we observe. Because we only ever see one face, it's easy to assume the other side must be permanently hidden from the sun's rays as well.

However, the moon still rotates on its axis. As it orbits Earth, different parts of its surface are illuminated by the sun, just like Earth experiences day and night. So, the "far side" of the moon regularly experiences its own sunrise and sunset, enjoying two weeks of daylight followed by two weeks of night. The term "dark side" is therefore misleading; "far side" or "unseen side" is a much more accurate description for the hemisphere that remains hidden from our view.