Sun Position
Calculate sun position, twilight times, and light phases for photography
How to use Sun Position
- 1Enter the latitude, longitude, date and local time.
- 2Read the height and azimuth of the sun at that time.
- 3The golden moment, shadow or solar alignment is planned from an angle.
Sun position: Height angle and azimuth
Sin (altitude angle) = sin (latitude) sin (latitude) + cos (latitude) cos (latitude) cos (latitude) cos (time angle)The location of the Sun depends on the location, the date of the year (latitude) and the time (time angle).
The height angle is the angle of the horizon of the Sun; the azimuth is the direction of the compass to which the Sun is directed.
Angular formula at midday sun height: **h = 90° - Local latitude + Sun at bare latitude** (summer to +23.5°, winter to −23.5°, spring and autumn at 0°). In Beijing (about 40°N) the winter to midday sun is only about 26.5°, summer to around 73.5° -** This is why the winter house is lighted and summer needs sun cover**. This pattern is very useful for building light, building photocopy and photo-sighting: to film the side of the building, to select the solar altitude close to the time of the building's direction.
** Sun azimuth determines the direction of sunrise and sunset**: north-east, north-west, north-west and winter, south-west, south-west, north-west, north-east, north-east, north-east, south-east, south-west, north-east, north-east, north-east, north-east, south-east, south-east, south-west, north-west, north-east, north-east, summer, south-east, south-east, south-east, south-west, south-west, south-west, north-east, north-east, north-east, summer, south-east, south-east, south-west, south-west, north-west, north-east, south-west, south-west, north-east, north-east, south-east, south-west, south-west, south-west, south-west, south-west, south-west, south-west, south-west, north-west, north-west, north-west, north, north-east, north-east, north, south, south-east, south, north, north, north, This knowledge is directly used in the following: a wind camera selection (in order to shoot Sunset Golden Mountain, look at the point of sunrise on that day and head forward to the east/north-east of the mountain); 2 architectural shade design; and 3 blue-tempo (Sunset + Blue = Best Window). ** Practical tools: PhotoPhills, Sun Surveyor, Planit! The solar/lunar position and trajectories at any date and time location can be calculated with precision and are the frame of the wind. **
| Gas/date | Sun Declination | Beijing (40°N) at noon height | Sunrise. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Episode 3/21 | 0° | 50° | East |
| Summer to 6/21 | +23.5° | 73.5° | Northeast |
| Autumn 9/23 | 0° | 50° | East |
| Winter to 12/22 | −23.5° | 26.5° | South-east |
| Any day | δ | 90° - Latitude + zirconium | — |
Seasonal changes in the Sun's position in the northern hemisphere (at midday sun height)
Frequently asked questions
What's the sun?
It is the latitude of the Sun on the sky, which varies from −23.4° to +23.4° within a year.
How's the precision?
Planning error of about 1°; air cover difference near the horizon is not modelled.
Why do you plan with azimuth?
The azimuth predicts the position of the Sun, which is used for alignment and shadow direction.
How do you predict the location of the gold moment?
Four steps: Identification of the subject(s) to be photographed (mounts, buildings, lakes); 2 Use of App to check the azimuth of sunset/sunrise on the day (e.g. north-west of Beijing summer sunset, approximately 300° + 3); 3 Identification of an unshielded position on the map/field (Google Earth's "Sunlight" or Sun Surveyor's AR preview is visual); 4 ** Step forward or at least one hour ahead of the scene** - the light changes fast, and the position, structure, parameters must be in place. ** The best light for a golden moment is only 10 minutes and it's time to start over, so "foreseeability" is more important than technology. **
Why is it still light in the summer and the sun is set?
Because of ** civilian twilight** — during the time when the sun falls below the horizon at 0-6°, the high atmosphere still scatters sunlight on the ground, and it is not completely dark. This period of time (about 20-30 minutes behind) is the blue moment, the city's light and the sky's balance, the golden window of the night. And down to Twilight, 12-18° below the horizon, it's all dark. ** So "the sun goes down" and "the sun goes down" and "the sun goes down" and "the sun goes down" and "the sun goes down" and "the night scene" is about the blue of 20-30 minutes, not the moment the sun just disappeared. **Note: The higher the latitudes, the longer the summers, the longer the twilight, and even the "white night" in the Arctic Circle (the sun does not fall at 6° below the horizon).