As the Earth orbits around the sun, the sun appears to move through the sky in a predictable pattern. This is because the Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted relative to its orbit around the sun, which causes the sun to appear to rise and set at different positions on the horizon throughout the year.
To illustrate this effect, we took a series of 12 pictures of the sun from the same place at the same time each month.
In January, the sun is at its lowest point in the sky, and it appears to rise and set at the southernmost point on the horizon. As the Earth continues to orbit around the sun, the sun appears to move northward in the sky, reaching its highest point in the sky in June. In June, the sun appears to rise and set at the northernmost point on the horizon. As the year progresses, the sun appears to move southward in the sky again, returning to its lowest point in the sky in December.
Here are the 12 pictures we took, one for each month:
As you can see, the sun appears to move through a large arc in the sky throughout the year, due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis. This movement is what causes the seasons, as different parts of the Earth are tilted towards or away from the sun at different times of the year.
We hope you enjoyed this visual demonstration of the Earth’s orbit around the sun!