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You will need to know the date, in order to look up (or calculate) the declination of the Sun, which is its position north or south of the equator. You can look this up in the Nautical Almanac or it can be calculated. See link below. It is also essential that your watch or chronometer be set EXACTLY to the correct time. It's helpful to have your watch set to GMT or Greenwich Mean Time. That way, you don't have to figure out your time zone.
On the Equinox dates - about March 21 and September 21 (plus or minus one day because of the cycle of leap years) - the Sun's declination is zero. On June 21, the Summer Solstice, the declination is 23 degrees, 26 minutes 22seconds north, and on December 21 it is the same distance south of the equator.
You also must measure the elevation of the Sun not at 12:00PM according to your watch, but at the "local apparent noon", the time when the Sun reaches its maximum elevation in the sky.
Your latitude is 90 - (the angle of the Sun) - (declination). Today is September 1, 2009. I will measure Sun's elevation at the Local Apparent Noon or "LAN".
(By the way, I will note the exact time of LAN on my watch, set to GMT. I will look up, in the Nautical Almanac, the "GHA" or Greenwich Hour Angle and I will be able to interpolate between the published numbers and find my exact longitude as well as the latitude.)
Let's say that I measure the LAN elevation and note that the elevation is 55 degrees at 17:28 GMT. (I need to measure this to the precise SECOND for real accuracy.) I can go into the Nautical Alamanac and note that at 17:00 the GHA is 75 degrees 1.6 minutes and at 18:00 the GHA is 90 degrees 1.8 minutes. The Sun travels at 15 degrees per hour or 4 minutes per degree. So at 17:28 precisely, the GHA was 82 degrees 1.7 minutes.
So the declination of the Sun was about 8 degrees, 2.5 minutes North. If the Sun was at EXACTLY 55 degrees above the horizon at LAN on 9/1/09, then my latitude is 90 - 55 - 8 degrees 1.5 minutes, or 26 degrees 58.5 minutes north. So my position is 26 degrees 58.5 minutes north, 82 degrees 1.7 minutes West. In other words, I'm just east of Port Charlotte, Florida. I'll need to be careful about the alligators!
There are two things you will need to do celestial navigation. One is a good sextant, which is the tool you use to measure the angle of the Sun above the horizon. The second is a VERY accurate watch. If your watch is off by a minute, your position will be off by at least a quarter-mile.
In the old days of sailing ships, clocks were chancy at best; after all, you couldn't use a pendulum clock aboard a bobbing ship at sea! It isn't surprising that the British Admiralty offered a fortune to the inventor who could build a clock that could keep time at sea.
What else can I help you with?
What is the angle of the noon day sun at 23.5 degrees in south on March 21?
On March 21, which is the vernal equinox, the sun is positioned directly above the equator. At a latitude of 23.5 degrees south, the noon sun will be at an angle of 90 degrees minus the latitude, resulting in an angle of 66.5 degrees above the horizon. This means the sun will be relatively high in the sky at noon, illuminating the area directly below it.
How many degrees did the angle of noon?
Noon is when the sun is overhead or at its zenith for whichever part of the world you are on. The angle would depend on the time of year and your latitude.
Is the sun particularly high in the sky at noon if it lies 63 degrees above the observer's horizon?
It is not particularly high but it may be the highest that it can get - depending on the observer's latitude.
What will be the altitude of the sun on 21june at twenty three and half degree?
On June 21, during the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. At 23.5 degrees latitude, the sun's altitude at solar noon will be approximately 90 degrees (directly overhead) minus the latitude, which results in an altitude of about 66.5 degrees. This means the sun will be significantly high in the sky, providing long daylight hours and intense sunlight.
What is the highest angle of sunlight in Middletown?
The highest angle of sunlight in Middletown, Connecticut, typically occurs around the summer solstice, which is around June 21. During this time, the sun can reach an altitude of approximately 72 degrees at solar noon. This angle can vary slightly depending on specific geographic factors and atmospheric conditions.
What is angle of the noon sun at latitude 35 degrees N on Dec 212017?
It is 58.4 degrees.
From latitude 35 what is the highest altitude above the noon sun?
For an observer at latitude 35 degrees, the highest the sun can ever be in his sky is roughly 31.5 degrees above the horizon.
What is the angle of the noon day sun at 23.5 degrees in south on March 21?
On March 21, which is the vernal equinox, the sun is positioned directly above the equator. At a latitude of 23.5 degrees south, the noon sun will be at an angle of 90 degrees minus the latitude, resulting in an angle of 66.5 degrees above the horizon. This means the sun will be relatively high in the sky at noon, illuminating the area directly below it.
How many degrees did the angle of noon?
Noon is when the sun is overhead or at its zenith for whichever part of the world you are on. The angle would depend on the time of year and your latitude.
What would be the noon sun angle on June 21st in Tampa?
On June 21st, the summer solstice, the noon sun angle in Tampa, Florida, is approximately 90 degrees. This is because Tampa is situated at a latitude of about 27.9 degrees north, and during the solstice, the sun is directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north). Therefore, the noon sun angle can be calculated by subtracting Tampa's latitude from the sun's declination on that date, resulting in an angle close to 90 degrees.
How many degrees latitude will the sun be at noon during Fall Equinox 2008?
At the equinox, the Sun will be directly above the equator, 0 degrees latitude.
What time is the sun's angle 63.9?
We can't figure that out from the information provided. The only thing we can say for certain is that your latitude is no greater than 40.4 degrees north or south. If that's your latitude, then this can only happen at Local Apparent Noon, when the Sun is highest in the sky.
What is the lowest the sun can ever be in the sky at local noon at latitude 6 degrees 34 minutes north?
The lowest the sun can ever be in the sky at local noon at latitude 6 degrees 34 minutes north is approximately 145 million kilometres.
What latitude is the Sun directly overhead at noon on Halloween?
The Sun is directly overhead the same latitude at noon every day. It is over the equator at 0 degrees. Just because it is Halloween doesn't change anything.
What angle will the suns rays most directly hit the earth?
the equater A+ 90 degrees
At which latitude would you expect the sun to be directly overhead at noon on April 21?
I think that the sun is only ever directly overhead the equator at noon on any day of the year.
What is the summer sun angle in Houston?
The steepest sun angle reached in Houston, TX is on June 21 during solar noon. That angle is 83.7 degrees (almost straight up). Vertical objects will have the shortest shadows on June 21. To find the solar noon sun angle on the summer/winter solstice and spring/fall equinox for your location, simply find your latitude and subtract it from 90. Then add 23.45. Houston's latitude is 29.75 degrees north of the equator. So... 90-29.75=60.25 60.25+23.45=83.7 degree sun angle
