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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Analemma over the Callanish Stones
NASA ^ | 20 Sep, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Giuseppe Petricca

Posted on 09/20/2026 12:07:09 PM PDT by MtnClimber

Explanation: If you went outside at the same time every day and took a picture that included the Sun, how would the Sun's position change? A visual answer to that question is an analemma, a composite image taken from the same spot at the same time over the course of a year. The featured analemma was composed from images taken every few days at noon near the village of Callanish in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, UK. In the foreground are the Callanish Stones, a stone circle built around 2700 BC during humanity's Bronze Age. It is not known if the placement of the Callanish Stones has or had astronomical significance. The ultimate causes for the figure-8 shape of this and all analemmas are the tilt of the Earth axis and the ellipticity of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. At the solstices, the Sun will appear at the top or bottom of an analemma. The featured image was taken near the December solstice and so the Sun appears near the bottom. Equinoxes, however, correspond to analemma middle points -- not the intersection point. In two days there will be an equinox ("equal night"), when day and night are equal over all of planet Earth. Many cultures celebrate a change of season at an equinox.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: analemma; apod; astronomy; bronzeage; callanish; nasa; outerhebrides; science; scotland; scotlandyet

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1 posted on 09/20/2026 12:07:09 PM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 09/20/2026 12:07:51 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

3 posted on 09/20/2026 12:08:14 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 31R1O; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; ...
Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

4 posted on 09/20/2026 12:09:04 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Wow.


5 posted on 09/20/2026 12:10:14 PM PDT by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as )
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To: MtnClimber

Awesome.


6 posted on 09/20/2026 12:10:22 PM PDT by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as )
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To: MtnClimber

An actual picture taken by the opportunity probe on Mars of a Martian Analemma.

7 posted on 09/20/2026 12:29:29 PM PDT by Nateman (Democrats did not strive for fraud friendly voting merely to continue honest elections.)
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To: MtnClimber

Cool. The autumnal equinox is the 22nd this year.


8 posted on 09/20/2026 12:47:00 PM PDT by kawhill (Dywedwch + Add translation Welsh-English dictionary 'Tell Us')
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To: kawhill

“autumnal equinox”

Sob...goodbye to another summer.

Just had my first Pumpkin Donut and a sip of fresh apple cider of the Fall season!


9 posted on 09/20/2026 1:15:56 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: MtnClimber

Those Callanish must have been exceptionally brave. They had huge stones. Grossly mishappen but buge.


10 posted on 09/20/2026 1:41:09 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: MtnClimber

I dated Ana in high school.


11 posted on 09/20/2026 2:14:51 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: MtnClimber

A huge bowling pin.

Makes me want to go to the snack bar for a delicious cheeseburger.


12 posted on 09/20/2026 2:21:16 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer” )
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To: SunkenCiv
I dated Ana in high school.

I flunked out of Junior High or else Ana would have picked me.

13 posted on 09/20/2026 2:24:58 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Her sister Diane dropped out too, maybe that could have been a match. Her nickname was Di.


14 posted on 09/20/2026 6:34:04 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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