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Credit & Copyright: Anthony Ayiomamitis
Explanation:
An analemma
is that figure-8 curve you get when
you mark
the position of the Sun at the same time
each day throughout planet
Earth's year.
Above,
47 separate exposures (plus one foreground exposure)
were recorded on a single piece of film to illustrate
this annual cycle of solar motion from March 30, 2003 to March 30, 2004.
In the remarkable foreground are standing Corinthian columns of the
ancient
Temple of Olympian Zeus
in Athens, Greece.
Solstices, like the one
that occurred at 0022 UT on December 22,
correspond to the bottom of the figure-8 or the
southernmost excursion of the Sun in the sky.
The tilt of planet Earth's axis and the variation in speed as
it moves around its orbit combine to produce the graceful
analemma curve.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: analemma - solstice
Publications with words: analemma - solstice
See also: