As the earth moves around the sun, the position of the sun relative to the stars changes.


So a few days later, a star is higher above the horizon at sunrise.

A solar day is longer than a sidereal day.
Solar day = 24 hr. Sidereal day = 23 hr and 56 minutes.


ASTR 121 Home
Davison E. Soper, Institute of Theoretical Science, University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403 USA soper@bovine.uoregon.edu