Due to synchronous rotation of their moon, the inhabitants of the central body will never be able to see its green side.

In astronomy, synchronous rotation is a planetological term describing a body orbiting another, where the orbiting body takes as long to rotate on its axis as it does to make one orbit; and therefore always keeps the same hemisphere pointed at the body it is orbiting. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant Astronomy (also frequently referred to as astrophysics) is the scientific study of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere (such as the cosmic background radiation). ... Planetary science, also known as planetology or planetary astronomy, is the science of planets and the solar system, and incorporates an interdisciplinary approach drawing from diverse sciences. ... Two bodies with a slight difference in mass orbiting around a common barycenter. ... The axis of rotation of a rotating body is a line such that the distance between any point on the line and any point of the body remains constant under the rotation. ...

The Moon is in synchronous rotation about the Earth. In fact, most major moons in the solar system have synchronous rotation due to tidal locking. Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... A natural satellite is an object that orbits a planet or other body larger than itself and which is not man-made. ... Major features of the Solar System (not to scale; from left to right): Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, the asteroid belt, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and its Moon, and Mars. ... Tidal locking makes one side of an astronomical body always face another, like the Moon facing the Earth. ...

See also

• Tidal locking
• Tidal acceleration
• Rotation
• Synchronous orbit

Tidal locking makes one side of an astronomical body always face another, like the Moon facing the Earth. ... It has been suggested that Tidal friction be merged into this article or section. ... A sphere rotating around its axis. ... A synchronous orbit is an orbit in which an orbiting body (usually a satellite) has a period equal to the average rotational period of the body being orbited (usually a planet), and in the same direction of rotation as that body. ...

External links

• Diagram illustrating the Moon's synchronous rotation