The Moon appears low in the sky primarily due to a combination of Earth's axial tilt, the Moon's orbital tilt, and the time of year. Near the summer solstice, the full Moon is naturally low in the southern sky because Earth's tilt causes the Moon's path to be lower along the horizon. Additionally, the Moon's orbit is tilted about 5.1° relative to Earth's orbit, and this tilt and the slow westward drift of the Moon's orbital plane (an 18.6-year cycle) can result in particularly low lunar elevations at certain times. Currently, this cycle is contributing to some of the lowest Moon elevations seen in recent years, with the Moon’s highest point in the sky at night reaching only about 30° above the horizon in some locations during these times. Furthermore, the Moon can appear large and orange when low because its light passes through more of Earth's atmosphere, which scatters shorter wavelengths and lets more red wavelengths dominate the color. The Moon illusion can also make the Moon look bigger near the horizon even though its actual size doesn't change. In summary, the Moon looks low due to Earth's tilt, the Moon's tilted orbit and its 18.6-year nodal precession cycle, coupled with atmospheric effects and observational illusions related to how humans perceive objects near the horizon.