As seen from earth, the sun appears to follow the annual path that we call the around the celestial sphere.

As seen from earth, the sun appears to follow the annual path that we call the ecliptic around the celestial sphere. The ecliptic is the Sun's annual path around the celestial sphere (map of the earth, showing the equator, line of right ascension and declination, north and south poles, elliptical, and the vernal equinox) and the ecliptic coordinate system is based on this path.