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