The nightly motion of the sky, as seen from South Africa.
Motion through the year of the stars and constellations
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While stars do move in space, the vast majority of this movement is too slow and too small for us to detect with our naked eyes here on Earth. The motion we see in the sky is a result of the both the EarthÆs rotation around its axis and its orbital motion around the Sun. The nightly rising and setting of the stars during the night is caused by the EarthÆs rotation. The slower movement of the stars and constellations across the sky through the course of a year is caused by the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
The nightly motion of the sky, as seen from South Africa.
Motion through the year of the stars and constellations
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