I would like to make a 3D plot of the graphs shown in this link: http://www.cso.caltech.edu/outreach/log/NIGHT_DAY/sunrise.htm They illustrate the apparent path of the sun on the celestrial sphere over the course of a year from various latitudes. They show how the sun moves from one solstice through the equinox to the other solstice and back. I'd like to be able to have the latitude vary from 0° (equator) to 90° (north pole). I'm pretty sure that Mathematica can do this. Is there a cheaper alternative that is anywhere close to as good?
I don't think there is a cheaper alternative to Mathematica, though I would be very interested if there was one.
Cost Vs Effort It could be possible to go a bit old fashioned and actually write a program to output the raw data into an image format, however that would take time and effort, where as already packaged software can pretty much output what you want. What you could do if you have a small amount of cash available is offer that on something like Mechanical Turk to get people to actually create the 3D output that you require, however the cost of getting people to do it (who in turn might already be proficient with such programs as Mathematica and already have a licensed version) might cost as much if not more than just licensing a copy yourself.
