It's a misconception that the figure-8 shape is due to the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit. Most of the variation in the sun's horizontal apparent motion is a

It's a misconception that the figure-8 shape is due to the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit. Most of the variation in the sun's horizontal apparent motion is also due to Earth's axial tilt. Orbital eccentricity only contributes the slight asymmetry seen in the final analemma. See my reply to the sibling comment for more detail.