The moon doesn't actually have a "dark side" in the way people often think. It's more accurate to say the moon has a far side and a near side. Here's why:

* Tidal Locking: The moon is tidally locked to Earth, meaning it rotates at the same rate it orbits our planet. This rotation takes about 27.3 days, which is the same time it takes the moon to orbit Earth.

* Constant Facing: Because of this tidal locking, the same side of the moon always faces us (the near side). The side that we never see is the far side.

* Sunlight: Both sides of the moon receive sunlight. The "dark side" is a misnomer, as it isn't perpetually dark. The far side of the moon experiences two weeks of sunlight followed by two weeks of darkness, just like the near side.

Therefore, the reason the moon appears to have a dark side is not due to a lack of sunlight, but because we only ever see one side from Earth.