There are no places when you would not be able to see at least some phase of the Moon. The exception being if your local geography precluded a view of the southern horizon lower than 30 degrees, for example, if your village was in a canyon or on the north/south side of a mountain range.

The orbit of the Moon is inclined by 5 degrees to the Ecliptic plane, which is in turn tilted at 24 degrees to the celestial equator. This means that in December, the Moon in Taurus is at a declination of as much as +30 degrees, and in June, the Moon could be as low as a declination of -30 degrees. This means that even if you were located at the north pole, the Moon would be seen 30 degrees above the horizon, and a the south pole, by the same amount. From the North and South Poles, the moon would be above the horizon for two weeks at a time from rise to set. This simulated image shows the path around March 1-14 courtesy of The Madison Planetarium.

Return to Dr. Odenwald's FAQ page at the Astronomy Cafe Blog.