No, everyone observes the same moon phases. People living north and south of the equator, however, observe the moon's present phase from different perspectives. If you moved to the other hemisphere, the moon would be at the same phase as it is at home, but it would seem upside down. The moon is always facing us towards the center of the earth, so it wouldn't be visible; instead, we would see the dark side.
The moon's appearance changes throughout the month due to Earth's shadow being projected over it. As February draws to a close, this shadow will have passed over the far side for the first time in four months, after which there will be two days per orbit when the moon is inside Earth's shadow. This will cause Earth's gravity to pull on the moon, causing it to shrink and rotate faster. By March, the far side will again be within reach of the sun's rays, reawakening it once more.
The lunar eclipse happens when the path that the Moon is tracing through Earth's atmosphere causes it to take on a red color. Because all direct sunlight is blocked from directly reaching the moon, only light from the Sun as refracted through Earth's atmosphere reaches it.
Yes, everyone on the planet observes the same moon phase on the same day; it is a common fallacy that individuals in various regions of the world see separate moon phases. There is one exception: individuals living south of the equator will view a moon that looks upside down to those living north of the equator. However, this occurs only when the earth is between the moon and the sun; during a full moon or new moon night, there is no difference in viewing conditions for individuals in both hemispheres.
The fact that we observe only one new moon per month is because we are not aware of any other body that could replace it. If the Earth-moon system were alone in its orbit around the Sun, then each night would reveal either the crescent or full moon depending on which direction we were traveling with respect to the moon. But since the Earth travels too fast for this to be effective, we need to consider all the other objects that affect our observation of the moon.
Astronomers use three major methods to determine the shape of the moon. The first method is simply to look at it! Observers on the ground can estimate how much light the moon blocks by comparing the brightness of the sky before and after it rises or sets. A completely dark sky is said to have a "full" moon, while one filled with stars has an "empty" sky.
No The Moon circles the Earth at the same pace as it revolves on its own axis. This implies that we always view the same side of the moon from our vantage point on Earth. The side we don't see receives equally as much light, therefore the "far side" is a more fitting moniker for that region of the Moon.
How does sunlight reach the far side of the Moon? The only way is through reflection from Earth's atmosphere. Since no part of Earth's surface can ever be fully concealed by clouds or fog, all locations on the planet will catch some indirect sunlight from the distant moon every day.
Does this mean that people on the far side of the Moon can visit Earth? Yes! In fact, astronauts living in lunar bases could watch Earth rise over their shoulders anytime they wanted to see what was going on back home. They would just need to look up toward the east (the direction of Earth's rotation) when dawn comes around again.
Would we know if humans had ever visited the far side of the Moon? If so, would they have left any traces behind? It's possible that humans have gone to the far side of the Moon, but there are no signs that they has been there.
Of course, the Moon orbits the Earth, which in turn orbits the Sun. The full moon occurs when the moon is 180 degrees away from the sun. As a result, regardless of where you are on Earth, the full moon (and other lunar phases) occur at the same time.
The moon's orbit is inclined 5.5 degrees to the equator. This means that the center of its orbit lies 5.5 degrees north or south of the point directly over the equator. The moon never gets closer than about 35 million miles to the earth nor further than about 39 million miles. It takes about 29 days for the moon to make one trip around the earth.
How does the position of the moon affect things like tides and meteor showers? Those topics are covered in more detail below under "Tides" and "Meteors". For now, just know that the position of the moon affects how many times you see stars with your naked eye, what time of year it is generally safe to go swimming, and what kind of soil is typically found near bodies of water polluted by industrial waste.
The Moon appears "upside down" in the southern hemisphere as compared to the northern hemisphere. This is merely an issue of perspective. Consider what would happen if the Moon orbited in the same plane as the equator. Then any object on the Moon's surface that was facing south at one moment in time would be facing north the next moment - even things like Apollo landing sites. But instead, the Moon orbits almost exactly perpendicular to the equator, which means that most parts face away from us.
So why does this matter? It matters because we on Earth see the Moon as always being in the same place in the sky, but it isn't. If you were standing on the surface of the Moon and looking up at the night sky, the Moon would appear to move around because it's actually changing direction in relation to the stars!
Now let's consider how this affects what we can see from Earth. In the northern hemisphere, the Moon looks its largest and brightest when it's near the horizon. But in the southern hemisphere, it looks its largest and brightest when it's straight ahead (i.e. 90 degrees) from the horizon. So even though the Moon is still going around in a circle, they way it appears in the sky changes every month!
This is why the Moon looks different in Australian skies.
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