Celestial Equator and Ecliptic, Declination

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest
and cold and heat, and summer and winter
and day and night, shall not cease.
(Genesis 8:22)

In the northern hemisphere, as one looks to the south, one will see
the area of sky where the celestial equator and ecliptic are.

The Celestial Equator is the arc in the sky directly over the Earth's
equator. It is tilted, (90 minus your latitude) degrees
up in the south. Orion, Virgo, Ophiuchus, Aquila (Altair) and Cetus,
are all straddling the equator. It rises due east, arches over in the
south, and arcs down to due west, always.
It is at 0.0 degrees declination, and declination is the angle above
or below the equator, in sky coordinates, sort of like latitude on earth.
The North celestial pole is at 90.0 degrees declination, and the
South celestial pole is at minus 90.0 degrees.

In the southern hemisphere the celestial equator is up in
the north, and the south celestial pole is up in the south, and the
southern circumpolar constellations rotate around it.

The ecliptic is the path of the sun through the sky,
through the year. It is tilted 23.5 degrees from the
equator because the earth is tilted 23.5 degrees from the
plane of its orbit. This is what causes the seasons to
occur, as the sun shines on the ends of the earth at a
different angle throughout the year as it goes around the
orbit.

In the night sky, the ecliptic rides high in the winter, midway up in
the spring and fall, and low in the summer.
At night the part of the ecliptic one sees, due south at
midnight, is where the sun was 6 months ago.

The moon follows the ecliptic roughly, but is
inclined to it an additional 5.145 degrees, so it can
swing either above or below the ecliptic.
When the moon crosses the plane of the ecliptic,
twice a month, this is called a "node".
When the node lines up with the time of full moon,
a lunar eclipse occurs, and when the node
happens to occur at the time of new moon,
a solar eclipse occurs somewhere.

The ecliptic rides high in the west in the spring and this
makes it easier to see the waxing thin moon in the spring.
It rides high in the east before dawn in the fall,
and that makes it easier to see the waning thin moon at that time.
In the opposite seasons there is a disadvantage because
the ecliptic rides low and drags the horizon.