Analemma

astronomy · sun · sky patterns · time

Figure Eight Pattern. If you stood in the same spot and took a photo of the Sun at exactly 3 p.m. every single day for a whole year, the Sun would trace out a shape that looks like a figure eight or a stretched loop in the sky.

Why It Moves. The Sun seems to move around because Earth's orbit is slightly oval-shaped and our planet's axis is tilted. These two things together make the Sun appear in different spots at the same time each day.

A Year-Long Dance. The analemma shows how the Sun's position changes throughout all four seasons, dipping lower in winter and climbing higher in summer, all captured in one cool diagram.

Globes Show It. Many globes have an analemma printed on them, showing this figure-eight pattern so you can see how the Sun moves without having to wait a whole year to find out.

Same Time, Different Place. The trick is looking at the exact same clock time every day. If you picked a different time, you'd get a different pattern, which is why the time of day you choose really matters.