🔍 Key Concepts

• apparent annual motion of the Sun on the celestial sphere • difference between a path in the sky and a line on the Earth (like the Tropic of Cancer) • relationship between the Sun’s path and the zodiac constellations

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: which term refers to an actual geometric path traced by the Sun against the background of stars, rather than a group of constellations or a latitude on Earth? • Consider whether the Sun’s apparent path is fixed on the celestial sphere or on the Earth’s surface—how does that eliminate some choices? • Think about which option is specifically defined in celestial navigation as the Sun’s apparent yearly track among the stars.

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify which choice is defined as the Sun’s apparent annual path on the celestial sphere in basic celestial navigation texts. • Check which option refers only to a band of constellations, not the precise geometric path itself. • Eliminate any choice that is a terrestrial latitude or a line related to an orbit’s shape around a focus rather than a visual path among the stars.