<p>The moon orbits close to the plane of the ecliptic, which is tilted at 23.5 degrees to the equator, the moon is slightly off the ecliptic, and can be about 5 degrees above the ecliptic.</p>

<p>So, on the winter solstice (June 21) if full moon happens to be furthest from crossing the ecliptic, the moon would be 28.5 degrees above the horizon: roughly a third of the way between the horizon and the zenith. It can get the same distance below the horizon, and during summer the full moon would not be seen at all.</p>

<p>Our moon is unique in being close to the plane of the ecliptic, and not in the plane of the equator, which suggests its formation was not like that of other moons in the solar system.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-24T16:16:16.407Z
2017-09-24T16:16:16.407Z
James K
<p>What would the moon look like to someone at the South Pole?  To a first approximation, it's bisected by the horizon. But how far above and below does it get?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-24T16:28:08.013Z
A nice short related page:   http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/46-our-solar-system/the-moon/observing-the-moon/134-why-is-the-moon-higher-in-the-sky-in-winter-and-lower-in-the-summer-beginner
userLTK
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-25T16:25:53.510Z
Just to clarify: the Moon is not bisected by the horizon. The Moon's orbit around the earth is bisected. So the Moon is visible for half of its 27.3 day orbit, then below the horizon for the other half of the orbit.
JohnHoltz
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-26T06:16:29.610Z
@JohnHoltz I got that, from tge last paragraph in James’ answer.
JDługosz
<orbit><the-moon>
View of moon from South Pole?
JDługosz
# View of moon from South Pole?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-24)

What would the moon look like to someone at the South Pole? To a first approximation, it's bisected by the horizon. But how far above and below does it get?

**Tags:** orbit, the-moon

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: A nice short related page:   http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/46-our-solar-system/the-moon/observing-the-moon/134-why-is-the-moon-higher-in-the-sky-in-winter-and-lower-in-the-summer-beginner  
> **username_2**: Just to clarify: the Moon is not bisected by the horizon. The Moon's orbit around the earth is bisected. So the Moon is visible for half of its 27.3 day orbit, then below the horizon for the other half of the orbit.  
> **username_0**: @username_2 I got that, from tge last paragraph in username_3’ answer.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-09-24. Score: 5

The moon orbits close to the plane of the ecliptic, which is tilted at 23.5 degrees to the equator, the moon is slightly off the ecliptic, and can be about 5 degrees above the ecliptic.

So, on the winter solstice (June 21) if full moon happens to be furthest from crossing the ecliptic, the moon would be 28.5 degrees above the horizon: roughly a third of the way between the horizon and the zenith. It can get the same distance below the horizon, and during summer the full moon would not be seen at all.

Our moon is unique in being close to the plane of the ecliptic, and not in the plane of the equator, which suggests its formation was not like that of other moons in the solar system.


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