Is there a name for the phenomenon of being able to see the dark side of the moon?

I don't know if there's a name for the phenomenon, but the shadowed portion of the moon that can be seen is bathed in Earthglow.

I only know it as earthshine because it caused by sunlight reflected off the Earth which faintly lights up the otherwise dark area of the Moon. I had a look earlier this evening and it's quite noticeable at the moment.

No you are not seeing the dark side..

When you hear people refer to the far side of the Moon, they're talking about the part of the Moon that always faces away from the Earth.

Over the few billions years since its formation, the Moon has become tidally locked with the Earth. In the distant past, the Moon had different rotation and orbital speeds, and it showed all of its sides to our planet. But the gravity of the Earth tugged at the irregular shapes on the Moon, causing it to slow its rotation down until it was exactly the same length as its orbit.

The Earth, on the other hand, has so much mass that the force of gravity from the Moon pulling on Earth can't overcome its rotational speed. The Moon does create the tides, though, and causes the ground to rise and fall - it's just such a small amount that you can't feel it.

Sometimes people mistakenly call this the dark side of the Moon. But there is no dark side of the Moon. Think about it, when we're seeing a new moon, that's because the familiar part that we can always see is in shadow. But at that point, the far side will be bathed in sunlight

earthshine or earthlight is what everybody calls it. when teh moon is a waxing crescent earth is waning gibbous in the moon's sky and is very bright. you can see lots of stuff on the moon.

i'd avoid the phrase "dark side of the moon", since that phrase has been co-opted by silly ppl who don't know what they are talking about.

Geoff is right; it is caused by "earthshine." But poetically it is called "the old moon in the new moon's arms." You will find it as "new moon in the old moon's arms" just as often.

I'm not aware of a name for it, other than earthshine or earthlight.