Diurnal motion (latin diurnus ′daily′, from dies ′day′) is an astronomical term referring to the apparent daily motion of stars around the Earth, or more precisely around the two celestial poles. It is caused by the Earth's rotation on its axis, so every star apparently moves on a circle, that is called the diurnal circle. The time for one complete rotation is 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.09 seconds (1 sidereal day). The first experimental demonstration of this motion was undertaken by Léon Foucault.