analemma

Definition

A figure-eight curve that results when the Sun's position in the sky is plotted out over the year at the same hour of mean solar time every day.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀνάλημμα (análēmma, “pedestal of a sundial”).

Example Sentences

• "People commonly encounter the equation of time in a strangely distorted figure 8, the analemma (Figure 6.5), frequently seen on terrestrial globes. The analemma is the equation of time plotted against the Sun's declination."
• "The analemma also records the difference between local solar time and local mean time for each day of the year."
• "The analemma's shape varies by location, but is seldom perfectly balanced.[…] The ends of the analemma represent summer and winter, but if we expect the solstices to be exactly at the ends and the equinoxes to be at the crossing point, we'd be wrong."

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