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01/19/2007: "sun angle follow-up"

Thanks for all the responses I got in regards to my problems finding information about sun angles. Although I now have the two numbers I need, I got a response from a friend of mine who knows a local astronomer. His response was:

One suggestion I would have is to search for "sun altitude" and not "sun angle". Sun altitude is the correct term for the topic in question and he may have better success searching.

As for a table of sun altitudes for major Canadian cities, I don't know off-hand where that could be found. However, if you are looking for a rough estimate of a locations sun altitude, the only real requirement is the latitude for the location. The equation is:

SUN ALTITUDE = 90 - (LATITUDE OF LOCATION) +/- DECLINATION

For example, if your locations is 50 degrees N latitude and you want to calculate the sun altitude for the winter solstice (declination = -23.5 degrees),

SUN ALTITUDE = 90 - 50 - 23.5 = 16.5 degrees

For the summer solstice,

SUN ALTITUDE = 90 - 50 + 23.5 = 63.5 degrees

Let me know if any of this helps.

Scott

It sure does, Scott, thanks! This is a dead easy method of figuring it out, and requires you to figure out only one piece of information: your latitude. I don't know of a handy reference for said information, but it shouldn't be any further than a well-placed Google away.