                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 March 20

                     The Solar Eclipse Analemma Project
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Hunter Wells

   Explanation: Recorded from 2024 March 10, to 2025 March 1, this
   composited series of images reveals a pattern in the seasonal drift of
   the Sun's daily motion through planet Earth's sky. Known to some as an
   analemma, the figure-eight curve was captured in exposures taken on the
   indicated dates only at 18:38 UTC from the exact same location south of
   Stephenville, Texas. The Sun's position on the 2024 solstice dates of
   June 20 and December 21 would be at the top and bottom of the curve and
   correspond to the astronomical beginning of summer and winter in the
   north. Points that lie along the curve half-way between the solstices
   would mark the equinoxes. The 2024 equinox on September 22, and in 2025
   the equinox on March 20 (today) are the start of northern fall and
   spring. And since one of the exposures was made on 2024 April 8 from
   the Stephenville location at 18:38:40 UTC, this analemma project also
   reveals the solar corona in planet Earth's sky during a total solar
   eclipse.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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