The apparent wobbling motion of the Moon that allows us to see slightly more than half its surface over time, despite the Moon being tidally locked to Earth. This occurs due to the Moon's elliptical orbit and axial tilt.
From Latin 'libratio' meaning 'a balancing' or 'oscillation,' from 'libra' (balance or scales). The term was first applied to lunar motion by Galileo in the 17th century, who observed that the Moon seemed to rock back and forth slightly.
Thanks to libration, we can actually see about 59% of the Moon's surface from Earth, not just 50%! It's like the Moon is slowly shaking its head 'no' over the course of each month, revealing hidden regions around its edges.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.