>I know, but this article said that the stars do not follow this annular > shift. with the sun. That is my question. perhaps it was just a > simplification. > > Philip The article is correct and for the reason that I posted earlier. Consider the earth rotating on its axis every 24 hours. As it rotates the stars appear to rotate around the earth and regardless of where the earth is in its orbit around the Sun the stars appear to rotate around the earth in exactly the same manner, rising and setting in the same place. The reason for this is that the rotation axis of the earth is fixed relative to the stars and it makes no difference where the earth is in its orbit the rotation axis still points in the same direction. The earth also orbits the sun but the orbital plane of the earths orbit around the sun is not in line with the earths rotation axis, its tilted by 23.5 degrees. So as the earth orbits the sun the path the sun makes against the celestial sphere moves up and down over a year whereas the stars do not change position with respect to their rising and setting. Hope that makes it clearer for you. Neil.