(WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – If you looked at the Sun each day at the exact same time, the same place, for the entire year, would it appear at the same location in the sky? Well, if the Earth were not tilted, and if its orbit around the Sun were perfectly circular, then yes, it would.

However, a combination of the Earth’s 23.5-degree tilt and its slightly elliptical orbit combine to create a figure-8 pattern the Sun moves in throughout the year. The pattern is called an analemma.

The Sun will appear at its highest point in the sky, and highest in the analemma, during the summer months. In the winter, the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky. Analemmas viewed from different Earth latitudes have slightly different shapes, as do analemmas created at different times of the day. Analemmas on the other planets have different shapes entirely!

There is also an Analemma of the Moon which can be taken by tracking the moon through its lunar month.