Can you see the moon looking straight up?

Question

Can you ever look straight up at night and see the Moon? I realized last night that I never can where I am. The Moon here always skirts the treetops and is never straight up in the sky. Where on the Earth can you look straight up and see the Moon?

Answer 1

Yes, but only at certain latitudes.

The Moon orbits near the ecliptic, which is the path in the sky through which the Sun moves. Because the Earth is tilted on its axis, the ecliptic is always within 23.5 degrees of the equator; and that's how close to the equator you'd need to be to have the SUN directly overhead.

But the Moon's orbit isn't *exactly* on the ecliptic; it's tilted to the ecliptic by 5 degrees or so. Sometimes, the tilt works such that the 5 degrees is added to the ecliptic's tilt, and sometime's it is subtracted, and most of the time it's in between.

Currently, the five degrees is being added, meaning that the Moon's orbit is tilted 28.5 degrees from the equator. And that's how close to the equator you'd need to be to see the Moon overhead. But 9 years from now, you'd need to be within 18.5 degrees of the equator to see the Moon straight overhead.

Answer 2

regularly, what "all of us recognize" is in simple terms incorrect. The Earth's shadow has actually no longer something to do with the degrees of the moon, and really, it in a large number of situations comes nowhere close to the moon. the in basic terms time that Earth casts a shadow on the moon is for the period of a lunar eclipse. Lunar degrees are in simple terms the outcome of the moon being lit by the daylight at diverse angles because it orbits the Earth. precisely 1/2 of the moon is illuminated at anybody time, and the dividing line between the lit and unlit aspects (observed as the terminator) is continuously a immediately line.

Answer 3

I know that I've never seen the moon straight up. It always seems to chill in the west, south, or the east, depending on the time of year. Weird. I guess it's a pretty rare thing for the orbits to match up in a way that the moon can be seen directly above you.

Answer 4

Yes, if you're close to the equator. The Moon's orbit is close to the Earth's equatorial plane, so if you live more than about 5 degrees north or south of the Equator it will never be directly overhead. But I once lived in the Seychelles, which is 5 degrees south, and you'd often see it directly overhead.

Answer 5

I think :
Only certain areas on earth can watch the Moon straight above. Just like the sun, we have ecliptic and zodiac. Moon has it's path. It is an orbital fact.

Answer 6

Our earth as it orbits the Sun is on its' "orbital plane". The Moon, in its orbit around the Earth, never exceeds more than 5 degrees above or below its "orbital plane" around the Earth. To see the Moon directly "above" you, which is known as your "Zenith", you would have to be somewhere on the Earth directly below the Moons' orbital plane. Both "time" and "place" play as factors in determining whether or not the Moon will be above you in your zenith. And "wherever" YOU are on the Earth, whether of not the Moon ever reaches YOUR "zenith" is something that you have to determine yourself. Time, Date, and Place, are all factors in determining whether or not the Moon ever reaches YOUR zenith.

Answer 7

well "up" is a really touchy subject. really "up" is different for each individual. if someone looked up at an exact right angle they would be looking a tiny bit of an angle off of somebody elses up. so truthfully you can and cant at the same time. you can look straight up from somebody elses prospective of up and see the moon but look up at somebody elses views and see nothing but the stars or even the sun.

Answer 8

If the moon is positioned in the right place in space, then yes.

Answer 9

A few degrees either side of the equator, is the answer I think you are looking for.