Lab 2: The Yearly Path of the Sun

The Sun's Apparent Motions in the Sky

The apparent path of the Sun is called the ________. It can also be though of as a projection of the plane of the earth's orbit on the celestial sphere.

On the ________ ________ (around March 21st), the sun crosses the celestial equator. On September 23, the ________ ________ occurs when the sun again crosses the celestial equator. On these days we have ________ days and ________ nights.

The northernmost point of the sun occurs on the ________ ________, around June 21st and the southernmost point of the sun (the ________ ________) happens on December 22.

As the sun travels around the ________, it passes through the twelve ________ ________.

Seasons

The seasons are caused by a ________ in the Earth's ________. Because of this tilt, the sun will vary in ________ ________ above the southern horizon throughout the year.

On Earth in the northern hemisphere, the sun's intensity will be greater in the ________ months than it is in the ________ months.