On the first day of winter solstice, where are the Sun and the Moon (assume full moon)on the celestial sphere?

Question

I know where the Sun is but I'm not sure about the Moon. Can someone find/draw me a picture where are they located on the celestial sphere?

And, Which will be higher in the sky when it crosses the meridian, the Sun or the Moon?

Answer 1

Hi. ALL objects in space are on the celestial sphere. At the solstice the sun is 23.5 or so degrees below the ecliptic. The moon can be anywhere up to 23.5 plus 6 degrees or so above or below.

Answer 2

At the equinoxes, the sun's path (the ecliptic) is right on the celestial equator (the Earth's equator projected on the sky). But the earth is tipped at a 23-degree angle. So at the summer solstice, the Sun is 23 degrees above the celestial equator, and at winter solstice it's 23 degrees below it.

Hope I said that right. Have a look at this page:
http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/celsph.html

The moon's axis is inclined at 5-degrees from the ecliptic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon

and it orbits (the Earth, not the Sun) with a ~27-day period, so it's position at solstice (like everything else about the Moon's position) is, uh, complicated.