The sun's path in the sky is lowest during the winter ______.

The sun's path in the sky is lowest during the winter ______.

• A. Solstice
• B. Equinox
• C. Perihelion
• D. Aphelion

Answer: (A)

The height of the Sun in the sky depends on Earth’s tilt and the Sun’s seasonal declination. At the winter solstice, the Sun’s declination is at its southernmost point, about -23.5°. That makes the noonday Sun sit lowest in the sky for observers in the Northern Hemisphere, producing the shortest day and a low, short arc across the sky. As the year progresses toward spring, the Sun’s declination moves toward zero and then positive, so the Sun climbs higher each day. The equinoxes involve equal day and night with a higher noon Sun than at the solstice, while perihelion and aphelion describe Earth’s distance from the Sun—distance changes energy received but not the Sun’s path height in the sky.

The height of the Sun in the sky depends on Earth’s tilt and the Sun’s seasonal declination. At the winter solstice, the Sun’s declination is at its southernmost point, about -23.5°. That makes the noonday Sun sit lowest in the sky for observers in the Northern Hemisphere, producing the shortest day and a low, short arc across the sky. As the year progresses toward spring, the Sun’s declination moves toward zero and then positive, so the Sun climbs higher each day. The equinoxes involve equal day and night with a higher noon Sun than at the solstice, while perihelion and aphelion describe Earth’s distance from the Sun—distance changes energy received but not the Sun’s path height in the sky.