The Sun's apparent path through the sky ________ from season to season in each hemisphere.

• A. changes
• B. remains fixed
• C. lengthens
• D. shortens

Answer: (A)

The Sun’s path through the sky changes with the seasons because Earth’s axis is tilted and it orbits the Sun. This tilt makes the Sun’s declination—its height above the celestial equator—vary over the year. As a result, the Sun reaches a higher arc in the sky in summer and a lower arc in winter, and the points where it rises and sets shift along the horizon. In the Northern Hemisphere, you’ll see a higher midday Sun and more northerly rising/setting points in summer, with the opposite pattern in winter; the Southern Hemisphere experiences the opposite seasonal orientation. A helpful way to see this is that the Sun’s noon altitude roughly follows altitude = 90° minus your latitude plus the Sun’s declination, which ranges from about -23.5° to +23.5° over the year. So the apparent path changes with season, rather than staying fixed.