Starship Asterisk*

Tutulemma: Solar Eclipse Analemma

Explanation: If you went outside at exactly the same time every day and took a picture that included the Sun, how would the Sun's position change? With great planning and effort, such a series of images can be taken. The figure-8 path the Sun follows over the course of a year is called an analemma. At the Winter Solstice in Earth's northern hemisphere, the Sun appears at the bottom of the analemma. Analemmas created from different latitudes appear at least slightly different, as well as analemmas created at a different time each day. With even greater planning and effort, the series can include a total eclipse of the Sun as one of the images. Pictured is such a total solar eclipse analemma or Tutulemma - a term coined by the photographers based on the Turkish word for eclipse. The featured composite image sequence was recorded from Turkey starting in 2005. The base image for the sequence is from the total phase of a solar eclipse as viewed from Side, Turkey on 2006 March 29. Venus was also visible during totality, toward the lower right. If you want to create your own USA-based tutulemma ending at next August's total solar eclipse, now would be good time to start.

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Nice that it happened on a nice day....

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I'm bored with analemmass. Maybe some year the Sun could do a figure 7 or figure 9 instead? Just for variety?

If you were at the north or south pole, would you see just a figure 0 or an inverted U shape?

Guest wrote:If you were at the north or south pole, would you see just a figure 0 or an inverted U shape?

It would look similar to this Antarctic Analemma just different dates
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150923.html

BMAONE23 wrote:

Guest wrote:
If you were at the north or south pole, would you see just a figure 0 or an inverted U shape?

It would look similar to this Antarctic Analemma just different dates

The North Pole would see the full bow
above the equinox φ line

The South Pole would see the U shape
below the equinox φ line (inverted)

APOD Robot wrote:At the Winter Solstice in Earth's northern hemisphere, the Sun appears at the bottom of the analemma.

Doesn't the Sun appear at the bottom at winter solstice in either hemisphere (unless you are within one of the polar circles, in which it doesn't appear at all)?

Cousin Ricky wrote:

APOD Robot wrote:At the Winter Solstice in Earth's northern hemisphere, the Sun appears at the bottom of the analemma.

Doesn't the Sun appear at the bottom at winter solstice in either hemisphere (unless you are within one of the polar circles, in which it doesn't appear at all)?

Aye, but the time of Winter Solstice in the North, is the time of Summer Solstice in the South, from where the Sun appears at the top of the analemma. Unless we define top equivalent to North and bottom equivalent to South. The terms top and bottom become most confusing in equatorial zones.

My Aunt Alemma came to visit once....she used to do Figure 8s too...

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Thanks for the further info Neufer

Nitpicker wrote:Unless we define top equivalent to North and bottom equivalent to South.

I would consider that inappropriate in a scene that includes a terrestrial horizon, unless the camera is pointed straight up.

Cousin Ricky wrote:

Nitpicker wrote:Unless we define top equivalent to North and bottom equivalent to South.

I would consider that inappropriate in a scene that includes a terrestrial horizon, unless the camera is pointed straight up.

I'm not so sure about that, in general. From some parts of Earth at some times of day, the analemma appears on its side. It is worthwhile to describe it relative to celestial north. And from the southern hemisphere, when observing the ecliptic, one typically faces more northward than southward -- when facing north, celestial north is down and celestial south is up.

I'm curious about why the Antarctic analemma isn't smooth. By that I mean some of the dimmer spot ( I presume a cloudy day) are not on what is otherwise a smooth curve but offset a bit to the right. Does the refractive index of a cloudy day offset the position?

Guest wrote:I'm curious about why the Antarctic analemma isn't smooth. By that I mean some of the dimmer spot ( I presume a cloudy day) are not on what is otherwise a smooth curve but offset a bit to the right. Does the refractive index of a cloudy day offset the position?

I suspect the camera wasn't perfectly stable.