ABSTRACT

During a total solar eclipse we see the moon as a dark round disc silhouetted against the sun. But which side of the moon do we see? Standardly, we do not see an object unless the object causes our perception. But in this case it is the far side of the moon which absorbs and blocks the sunlight from us and causes us to see the moon as a dark disc. So during an eclipse it is the far side of the moon, not its near side, that we see. But that seems quite contrary to the way we think of seeing.