Sun and Calendar

Follow the Sun’s road through the year, and say what it does to your days and your calendar.

9 guides · about 60 min

A line runs from a guide to the guides that build on it.

1. 1. Why We Have Seasons 5 min Why are there seasons, if Earth is nearest the Sun in January?

   You’ll be able to explain why the seasons come from Earth’s tilt and not its distance from the Sun.

   Begin
2. 2. The Ecliptic 8 min Why do the Sun, the Moon and the planets all keep to one track?

   You’ll be able to trace the ecliptic across the sky, the line every planet stays close to.

   Builds on

   • Celestial Coordinates · How the Sky Turns. It uses “celestial equator”, which Celestial Coordinates explains.

   Leads to

   The Sun's Year, The Analemma, The Wandering Equinox, The Plane of the Galaxy (Deep Sky), Eclipse Seasons (Moon)

   Begin
3. 3. The Sun's Year 9 min Which stars is the Sun standing in front of tonight?

   You’ll be able to say which constellation the Sun is in tonight, and how its walk makes the seasons.

   Builds on

   • The Ecliptic. It uses “ecliptic”, which The Ecliptic explains.

   Begin
4. 4. The Sun and Your Clock 4 min Why does a sundial disagree with your clock on most days of the year?

   You’ll be able to explain why the earliest sunset and the shortest day fall on different dates.

   Leads to

   The Analemma

   Begin
5. 5. The Analemma 6 min Why does the Sun, photographed at the same time each day, draw a figure-8?

   You’ll be able to say what makes the analemma’s figure-8 tall, and what makes it wide and lopsided.

   Builds on

   • The Ecliptic. It uses “ecliptic”, which The Ecliptic explains.
   • The Sun and Your Clock. It uses “meridian”, which The Sun and Your Clock explains.

   Leads to

   Build an Analemma

   Begin
6. 6. Build an Analemma 5 min What would the Sun’s figure-8 look like from Mars?

   You’ll be able to tell which part of the figure-8 comes from the tilt and which from the orbit.

   Builds on

   • The Analemma. It uses “equation of time”, which The Analemma explains.

   Begin
7. 7. White Nights 5 min Why do June nights in the far north never get properly dark?

   You’ll be able to say how dark a summer night gets from any latitude, and why.

   Begin
8. 8. The Wandering Equinox 9 min When does the Age of Aquarius actually begin?

   You’ll be able to explain why the zodiac signs no longer match the stars behind the Sun.

   Builds on

   • The Ecliptic. It uses “ecliptic”, which The Ecliptic explains.

   Leads to

   Ophiuchus, the Thirteenth

   Begin
9. 9. Ophiuchus, the Thirteenth 7 min Which constellation on the Sun’s path do the horoscopes leave out?

   You’ll be able to find Ophiuchus, the constellation the Sun crosses between Scorpius and Sagittarius.

   Builds on

   • The Wandering Equinox. Its signs drifted from their stars by the wobble The Wandering Equinox shows.

   Begin Know it already? Find it outside

From other paths

Guides on this path build on these.

• Celestial Coordinates · How the Sky Turns · 8 min It uses “celestial equator”, which Celestial Coordinates explains.