In astronomy, an analemma is a diagram showing the position of the Sun in the sky as seen from a fixed location on Earth at the same mean solar time, as that position varies over the course of a year. The diagram will resemble a figure eight. Globes of Earth often display an analemma as a two-dimensional figure of equation of time vs. declination of the Sun.
Analemma with date marks, printed on a globe, Globe Museum, Vienna, Austria
Diagram of an analemma looking east in the Northern Hemisphere. The dates of the Sun's position are shown. This analemma is calculated for 9am, not photographed.
Groundtrack of QZSS geosynchronous orbit. Seen from the ground, its analemma would have a similar shape.
Afternoon analemma photo taken in 1998–99 in Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA, by Jack Fishburn. The Bell Laboratories building is in the foreground.
The position of the Sun in the sky is a function of both the time and the geographic location of observation on Earth's surface. As Earth orbits the Sun over the course of a year, the Sun appears to move with respect to the fixed stars on the celestial sphere, along a circular path called the ecliptic.
The Sun over Phang Nga Bay in Thailand (8°17′N 98°36′E / 8.283°N 98.600°E / 8.283; 98.600), at 7:00 a.m. local time on a March morning
