8th Grade Sun-Earth-Moon System Practice Test 2026 – Your All-in-One Guide to Mastering Space Science!

Due to tidal locking, the Moon’s rotation period matches its orbital period around Earth, so the same hemisphere always points toward Earth. That constant orientation means the side we continually see from Earth is the near side. The opposite hemisphere is the far side, which never faces us. The terms bright side and dark side describe illumination during the Moon’s day but aren’t fixed faces—the Sun lights both sides over time.