What is solar azimuth?

Azimuth is the compass bearing of the sun measured clockwise from true north. An azimuth of 0° or 360° means the sun is due north, 90° is due east, 180° is due south, and 270° is due west.

What is solar elevation (altitude)?

Elevation, also called altitude, is the angle of the sun above the horizon. A value of 0° means the sun is at the horizon, 90° means directly overhead (zenith). Negative values mean the sun is below the horizon.

What algorithm is used?

This tool implements equations published with NOAA GML's solar calculator, including equation of time, declination and atmospheric-refraction approximations. It is an engineering estimate, not an ephemeris or survey instrument.

What is atmospheric refraction correction?

The atmosphere bends sunlight, making the sun appear slightly higher than its true geometric position, especially near the horizon. This tool applies the standard refraction correction formula so the reported elevation matches what you actually see in the sky.

How do I find my UTC offset?

Choose your time zone (for example America/New_York) and the calculator reads the offset in force on the selected date from your browser's time-zone database, so New York is UTC−4 in June and UTC−5 in December. With "Custom UTC offset" you type the hours yourself, including daylight saving time; the offset is never guessed from coordinates.

What time is golden hour?

Golden hour is when the sun is low, commonly taken as between 6° above and 4° below the horizon: shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset. Its length depends on latitude and season, from about 40 minutes near the equator to well over an hour at high latitudes in summer. The twilight table shows the morning and evening windows for your date.

What is the difference between civil, nautical and astronomical twilight?

They are defined by how far the sun's centre is below the horizon: civil twilight ends at 6°, when outdoor work needs artificial light; nautical twilight at 12°, when the horizon at sea is no longer visible; astronomical twilight at 18°, after which the sky is fully dark. For London on October 9, 2026 the tool gives civil dawn 06:41 and dusk 18:54, matching the U.S. Naval Observatory.

What is the sun's azimuth and elevation right now?

Click "Set to Current Time", choose your city or use your location, and press Calculate. The hourly table then lists the azimuth, elevation and shadow length for every daylight hour, and "Copy CSV" exports it for a spreadsheet or shading study.

Why is solar noon not exactly 12:00?

Solar noon depends on your exact longitude within your time zone and on the Equation of Time — a correction for Earth's elliptical orbit and axial tilt. The Equation of Time alone moves solar noon by up to about 16 minutes during the year, and where you sit inside your time zone, plus daylight saving time, can add an hour or more.

How high is the sun at solar noon?

Use 90° − |latitude − declination|. In Antananarivo, Madagascar (18.9°S) on June 21 the declination is +23.44°, so the noon sun stands about 90 − 42.3 = 47.7° high, due north. In Pittsburgh (40.4°N) on September 21 the declination is about +0.5°, giving roughly 50.1° due south.

How accurate is this sun position result?

It is an engineering estimate based on NOAA solar-calculator equations. NOAA notes that accuracy may be lower above 72° north or below 72° south, partly because atmospheric refraction is difficult to predict. Local terrain and the visible horizon are not modeled.

Sun Position Calculator

Calculate the sun's azimuth and elevation angle for any location, date, and time using the NOAA solar position algorithm, with DST-aware time zones, twilight and golden-hour times and an hourly table.

Solar elevation follows sin(elevation) = sin φ × sin δ + cos φ × cos δ × cos h, where φ is latitude, δ is the Sun's declination and h is the hour angle (15° per hour from solar noon).

Location & Time

City preset (optional)

Latitude (°)

Longitude (°)

Location permission is optional. Coordinates are used only in this browser calculation.

Date

Local Time

Time zone

UTC Offset (h)

Pick a time zone to apply daylight saving time for the chosen date automatically.

Object Height (optional)

Unit

Enter location and time to see sun position

Azimuth

—

Elevation

—

Estimated Ground Shadow

—

Length

—

Length / height

—

Direction

Uses level ground and a vertical object.

Calculated daily sun path (azimuth/elevation)

Day Details

Sunrise —

Sunset —

Solar Noon —

Day Length —

Declination —

Hour Angle —

Solar Zenith —

Equation of Time —

Noon Elevation —

UTC Offset Used —

Twilight, Golden Hour & Blue Hour (local time)

Phase (sun elevation)	Morning	Evening

Golden hour is taken as the sun between −4° and +6°, blue hour between −6° and −4° (photography conventions; definitions vary). Twilight limits are the standard −6°, −12° and −18°.

Hourly Sun Position

Local time	Azimuth	Elevation	Shadow

Hours with the sun above the horizon, plus solar noon. Shadow = length for the object height above.

Sun elevation at solar noon by latitude

Noon elevation = 90° − |latitude − declination|, geometric (refraction adds about 0.0–0.5°). Northern latitudes shown; for the same southern latitude swap the June and December columns. The noon sun is due south when the latitude is north of the declination, due north when it is south of it.

Latitude	Dec solstice (δ −23.44°)	Equinoxes (δ 0°)	June solstice (δ +23.44°)
0° N	66.6°	90.0°	66.6°
10° N	56.6°	80.0°	76.6°
20° N	46.6°	70.0°	86.6°
30° N	36.6°	60.0°	83.4°
35° N	31.6°	55.0°	78.4°
40° N	26.6°	50.0°	73.4°
45° N	21.6°	45.0°	68.4°
50° N	16.6°	40.0°	63.4°
55° N	11.6°	35.0°	58.4°
60° N	6.6°	30.0°	53.4°
65° N	1.6°	25.0°	48.4°
70° N	below horizon	20.0°	43.4°

Quick answer

Solar elevation follows sin(elevation) = sin φ × sin δ + cos φ × cos δ × cos h, where φ is latitude, δ is the Sun's declination and h is the hour angle (15° per hour from solar noon). Azimuth is the Sun's compass bearing clockwise from true north, and at solar noon the elevation is simply 90° − |φ − δ|.

Examples

Place, date, local time	Azimuth	Elevation
New York, Jun 21 2026, 1:00 PM	181.6° (S)	72.7°
New York, Dec 21 2026, 12:00 PM	181.5° (S)	25.9°
Pittsburgh, Sep 21 2026, 3:00 PM	218.2° (SW)	43.2°
Antananarivo, Jun 21 2026, 11:52 AM	0.6° (N)	47.7°

Pick a city or enter coordinates, date and time to get azimuth, elevation, twilight and golden hour, an hourly table and the day's sun path chart.

Summary

The Sun Position Calculator computes solar azimuth and apparent altitude for a geographic coordinate and local date/time. It implements equations published by NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory; checked against the U.S. Naval Observatory, New York on June 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM EDT gives 181.63° azimuth and 72.72° elevation in both. Pick a city or an IANA time zone and the UTC offset, including daylight saving time, is taken from your browser's time-zone data for that date; a custom offset is also accepted. Results include solar noon and noon elevation, sunrise, sunset, day length, civil, nautical and astronomical twilight, golden and blue hour, an hourly position table you can copy as CSV, and a shadow-length estimate.

How it works

Pick a city preset, or enter your latitude and longitude (or click "Use My Location" to auto-fill from your browser).
Select the date and local time you want to evaluate.
Choose a time zone so daylight saving time is applied for that date, or type a custom UTC offset.
The tool computes the Julian Day Number and Julian Century for the given moment.
Solar geometric angles (declination, equation of time, hour angle) are derived using NOAA polynomial coefficients.
Azimuth and elevation are calculated from the hour angle and declination, then corrected for atmospheric refraction.

Use cases

Inspect solar azimuth and elevation before planning a solar-energy site assessment.
Determine shading patterns for building design and architecture.
Plan landscape or portrait photography at the golden hour or blue hour.
Schedule outdoor activities around peak sun intensity.
Find sunrise and sunset times for any location on Earth.
Calculate solar noon for accurate sundial calibration.
Check when direct sunlight may enter a window or cast a shadow.
Support agricultural planning by knowing daily sun exposure hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-10-09 · Reviewed by Nham Vu