NASA features the Sun’s figure-eight path above Scotland’s Callanish Stones
A composite image made near Callanish shows how the Sun’s apparent position changes over a year.
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for 20 September 2026 features an analemma photographed near noon over about a year near Callanish in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.
The composite was created from images taken every few days from the same location and shows the Sun tracing a figure-eight above the Callanish Stones. The Bronze Age stone circle was built around 2700 BC.
NASA says the shape of an analemma results from Earth’s axial tilt and the elliptical shape of its orbit around the Sun. The image was taken near the December solstice, placing the Sun near the bottom of the figure eight.
The stones’ possible astronomical significance is not known. NASA also says an equinox is due on 22 September, with equinoxes corresponding to the middle points of an analemma.
The image is credited to Giuseppe Petricca, with explanatory text by Astronomy Picture of the Day editors. NASA said the main APOD website is moving from apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod.
