01 Apr 09 The Dark Side Of The Moon

For a brief period around 4pm today the dark side of the moon will be visible.

As you may know the moon is tidally locked with the earth, meaning we always see the same side of the moon from here on earth. But due to a strange gravitational effect that occurs when Jupiter, the sun, and our moon form a triangle in space, the moon rotates around and we see the other side of it.

Because of the orbits of the earth and Jupiter this is very rare and should not be missed. In less than an hour the moon will rotate back around and show us the same face again for the next 268 years.

So if you’ve never seen the dark side of the moon today will be the only chance in your lifetime, unless you become a rocket man and travel around to the other side of it in a spacecraft like the Apollo astronauts did.”