Explore the Sun's figure-8 analemma - the path made by photographing the Sun at the same clock time for a year. Scrub day of year, play the loop, and toggle the equation-of-time bar.
Published teaching figures: obliquity 23.44 deg, equation of time about +/-16 min (Spencer-style teaching approx). Seasons Earth 3D teaches seasons; Sidereal vs Solar Day teaches day length - this page teaches the analemma figure-8.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Scrub day 0-365, play/pause, or toggle the equation-of-time bar.
Solar Analemma 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows the solar analemma as a teaching schematic - not an ephemeris. The gold figure-8 is the path of the Sun at a fixed mean solar time across a year, built from declination (Earth obliquity 23.44 deg) and the equation of time (about +/-16 min in a common teaching approximation).
North-south motion follows the seasons; east-west motion follows how sundial time drifts from clock time. Scrub day of year, play the loop, or toggle the equation-of-time bar. Sidereal vs Solar Day explains day length; Seasons Earth explains seasons - this page explains the figure-8 itself.
- Gold analemma curve with month tick markers
- Sun marker scrubbed by day of year (0-365)
- Play/pause year animation
- Optional equation-of-time bar
- Published obliquity 23.44 deg and ~+/-16 min EoT teaching range
- Distinct from seasons-earth and sidereal-vs-solar-day
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
Students see why noon Sun photos form a figure-8; teachers link obliquity to the tall loop and eccentricity/obliquity to the lean; curious readers connect sundial error to the equation of time.
| Figure | Value | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Obliquity | 23.44 deg | IAU / Earth orientation |
| Equation of time range | about +/-16 min | Spencer-style teaching approximation |
| Year model | 365-day non-leap | Teaching scrubber (not a leap calendar) |
| Shape drivers | declination + EoT | Standard analemma literacy |
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached; no scene data is sent to a server.
This is an educational analemma schematic - not an ephemeris or climate model.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read the Solar Analemma 3D Explorer step-by-step guide. The Space 3D collection also includes Seasons Earth 3D and Sidereal vs Solar Day 3D.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Solar Analemma 3D Explorer show?
A teaching schematic of the Sun's figure-8 analemma from declination (obliquity 23.44 deg) and the equation of time (about +/-16 min), with a day-of-year scrubber.
Why is the analemma a figure-8?
North-south motion follows the Sun's declination through the seasons. East-west motion follows the equation of time. Together they draw a figure-8 when you mark the Sun at the same clock time all year.
What is the equation of time here?
A teaching approximation spanning about +/-16 minutes - how far sundial (apparent) time drifts from mean solar (clock) time. The optional EoT bar visualizes that east-west offset.
How is this different from Seasons Earth 3D?
Seasons Earth 3D teaches axial tilt and solstice/equinox geometry. This page teaches the year-long noon-Sun figure-8 path (analemma).
How is this different from Sidereal vs Solar Day 3D?
Sidereal vs Solar Day compares day lengths. This page shows how those timing effects accumulate into the analemma curve.
Is this an ephemeris?
No. It is an educational analemma schematic using common teaching formulas - not a precision solar ephemeris.