<p>Imagine you're lying down outside, looking up at the sky, with your body aligned so your head is pointing North, and your Feet are pointing South. If you look to your Left, you'll be looking East, and see the East part of the ground and sky.  If you look to your right, you'll be looking West, and see the West part of the ground and sky.</p>
<p>Now imagine a friend  holds a globe above your head, centered on your home city, with the north pole pointing North, and the South pole pointing South.</p>
<p>When you look at your country on that globe, the parts East of your city will be on the right side of the globe, and the points west of it will be on the left side of the globe.</p>
<p>The same thing happens with the Moon. When you're standing on the Earth, looking up at the Moon near the meridian,  from the Northern Hemisphere (so it appears generally south of you), The parts of the Moon that are Lunar-Surface-East of the Moon's center will appear on the right side, and the parts of the Moon that are Lunar-Surface-West will appear on the Left.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-28T01:07:10.117Z
2021-01-28T01:07:10.117Z
notovny
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/1uJt2.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/1uJt2.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moon_names.svg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">source</a></p>
<p>Why is east and west reversed for the moon? Why does north and south remain the same?</p>
<p>Please explain like I'm five.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-28T09:40:23.273Z
I guess, it is rather simple as if two people are standing face to face and looking at each other: My right side for you on your left and vice versa.
B--rian
<the-moon><crater>
On a lunar map, why is it labelled East on Earth, West on Moon?
CYYZ
# On a lunar map, why is it labelled East on Earth, West on Moon?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-01-27)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/1uJt2.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/1uJt2.png)

[source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moon_names.svg)

Why is east and west reversed for the moon? Why does north and south remain the same?

Please explain like I'm five.

**Tags:** the-moon, crater

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I guess, it is rather simple as if two people are standing face to face and looking at each other: My right side for you on your left and vice versa.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-01-28. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

Imagine you're lying down outside, looking up at the sky, with your body aligned so your head is pointing North, and your Feet are pointing South. If you look to your Left, you'll be looking East, and see the East part of the ground and sky. If you look to your right, you'll be looking West, and see the West part of the ground and sky.

Now imagine a friend holds a globe above your head, centered on your home city, with the north pole pointing North, and the South pole pointing South.

When you look at your country on that globe, the parts East of your city will be on the right side of the globe, and the points west of it will be on the left side of the globe.

The same thing happens with the Moon. When you're standing on the Earth, looking up at the Moon near the meridian, from the Northern Hemisphere (so it appears generally south of you), The parts of the Moon that are Lunar-Surface-East of the Moon's center will appear on the right side, and the parts of the Moon that are Lunar-Surface-West will appear on the Left.


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