Near side of the Moon

The Moon is directly illuminated by the Sun, and the cyclically varying viewing conditions cause the lunar phases.

The image of the Moon here is drawn as is normally shown on maps, that is with north on top and west to the left.

The two hemispheres have distinctly different appearances, with the near side covered in multiple, large maria (Latin for 'seas').

These lowlands were believed to be seas of lunar water by the astronomers who first mapped them, in the 17th century (notably, Giovanni Battista Riccioli and Francesco Maria Grimaldi).

[3] These larger impact craters make up the Man in the Moon references from popular mythology.

The names of the major marianna trench and some craters on the near side of the Moon
Over one lunar month more than half of the Moon's surface can be seen from the surface of the Earth.
The near side as observed (from Earth's Northern Hemisphere ) over the course of one month , showing the libration effects
Detailed view by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Schematics of moonrise on different Earth latitudes
Changing landscape between the hemispheres