Sunrise and sunset direction

Have you ever wondered why the direction of sunset changes throughout the year? We usually speak of the sun setting in the west, but technically it only sets due west at the spring sunrise and sunset direction autumn equinoxes.

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Sunrise and sunset direction

Where Does the Sun Rise and Set? Most people know that the Sun "rises in the east and sets in the west". However, most people don't realize that is a generalization. Actually, the Sun only rises due east and sets due west on 2 days of the year -- the spring and fall equinoxes! On other days, the Sun rises either north or south of "due east" and sets north or south of "due west. At the summer solstice, the Sun rises as far to the northeast as it ever does, and sets as far to the northwest. Every day after that, the Sun rises a tiny bit further south. At the fall equinox, the Sun rises due east and sets due west. It continues on it's journey southward until, at the winter solstice, the Sun rises are far to the south as it ever does, and sets as far to the southwest. Many, if not most, prehistoric cultures tracked these rising and settings points with great detail. If they had jagged mountains along the horizon, the exact points could be readily remembered. Without a suitably interesting horizon, standing stones could be arranged to line up with the various rising and setting points. Or, tree poles could replace the standing stones. Or, rock cairns could be used. The dioramas simulate the rising and setting points of the Sun, and its tracks across the sky at summer solstice longest track , winter solstice shortest track , and the spring and fall equinoxes medium track.

What you see depends on when you observe. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. At the fall equinox, the Sun rises due east and sets due west.

Every day, the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars appear to rise in the east and set in the west. It spins on its axis from west to east approximately every 24 hours. To us, it appears as if everything in the sky is moving from east to west. During summer in the northern hemisphere, the Sun rises north of east and sets north of west. It is high in the sky at noon.

Toggle navigation. Home Countries Search. United states. Please select a city in order to display location specific sun orientation data. List of Cities Abilene Texas,. Akron Ohio,. Alafaya Florida,. Alameda California,.

Sunrise and sunset direction

SunCalc shows the movement of the sun and sunlight-phase for a certain day at a certain place. You can change the suns positions for sunrise , selected time and sunset see. The thin yellow-colored curve shows the trajectory of the sun, the yellow deposit shows the variation of the path of the sun throughout the year. The closer a point in the center, the higher the sun above the horizon. The colors in the above time-slider shows the sunlight during the day.

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The green arrows represent the cardinal directions. March equinox diagram. Altitude :. During summer in the northern hemisphere, the Sun rises north of east and sets north of west. The calculated solar vector at 1-hour step for a full year for both daytime and nighttime can be used to visualize the Sun path effectively. Sunrise — The moment when the top of the sun disc touches the horizon on sunrise. Capital : Freetown. Most people know that the Sun "rises in the east and sets in the west". In the U. This article needs additional citations for verification. Hong Kong Guyana. Paris France.

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Raleigh United States. Capital : Hanoi. Population : For all other latitudes, the cosine of the latitude is less than one, and since it's on the denominator of the equation, the maximum change in sunset direction is greater than Population : 7. So the deviation from due west is just the declination of the sun on that day. Glasgow United Kingdom. Contents move to sidebar hide. This is the basis by which ancient mariners navigated the oceans. For instance, the maximum deviation, at the solstices, is Instructions to link to this page! Legend Dawn — A time that marks the beginning of the twilight before sunrise. Toggle limited content width. In the following figures, the origin of the coordinate system is the observer's location, x-positive is East, y-positive is North, and z-positive is upward; at North Pole, y-negative is tangent to the prime meridian; at South Pole, y-positive is tangent to the prime meridian; z-positive is daytime, and z-negative is nighttime; the time step is 1 hour. Renewable Energy , ,