The sun's path in the sky is highest during the summer ______.

The sun's path in the sky is highest during the summer ______.

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

Answer: (D)

The height of the Sun in the sky is determined by Earth's tilt relative to the Sun as the year changes. At the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted most toward the Sun, so the Sun climbs highest in the sky at noon and the day is longest. This extreme tilt makes the Sun’s noon altitude reach its maximum for the year, which is why that point marks the highest path across the sky. Equinoxes, by contrast, occur when the tilt is such that day and night are equal; the Sun is not at its highest point then. The terms perigee and aphelion describe the closest and farthest points in Earth's orbit (or the Moon’s in its orbit) and affect distance a bit, not the Sun’s height above the horizon in the sky. So the best fit for the statement about the Sun’s highest path in the sky during summer is the solstice.

The height of the Sun in the sky is determined by Earth's tilt relative to the Sun as the year changes. At the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted most toward the Sun, so the Sun climbs highest in the sky at noon and the day is longest. This extreme tilt makes the Sun’s noon altitude reach its maximum for the year, which is why that point marks the highest path across the sky.

Equinoxes, by contrast, occur when the tilt is such that day and night are equal; the Sun is not at its highest point then. The terms perigee and aphelion describe the closest and farthest points in Earth's orbit (or the Moon’s in its orbit) and affect distance a bit, not the Sun’s height above the horizon in the sky. So the best fit for the statement about the Sun’s highest path in the sky during summer is the solstice.