Sun Position Calculator
Where is the sun right now – and when will it reach your balcony, garden or solar panels? Pick your location or enter coordinates, set date and time and see the sun’s direction, altitude and full sun path for the day.
How it is calculated
The sun position tells you where the sun is in the sky: the azimuth is its compass direction (0° north, 90° east, 180° south, 270° west) and the altitude its angle above the horizon. Both depend on place, date and time. The calculator shows the whole day – handy for photography, planning a garden, balcony or solar panels, or finding out when the sun disappears behind the next building.
How it works
- Tap “Use my location” or enter latitude and longitude; the time zone is used for all clock times.
- Choose a date – for example 21 June for the highest and 21 December for the lowest sun of the year in the northern hemisphere.
- Move the time slider: the marker in the charts, direction, altitude and shadow length follow instantly.
How it is calculated
The method is the NOAA Solar Calculator (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), based on Jean Meeus’ “Astronomical Algorithms”: date and time give the sun’s declination and the equation of time, and from those the hour angle, altitude and azimuth. Atmospheric refraction is included in the altitude. Sunrise and sunset are when the upper edge of the sun touches the horizon – the centre is then 0.833° below it. Twilight ends at 6° (civil), 12° (nautical) and 18° (astronomical) below the horizon.
Checked on 28 Sep 2026 against the US Naval Observatory: for Berlin on 21 June 2026 sunrise 04:43, solar noon 13:08 and sunset 21:33 (CEST) match; azimuth and altitude agree within 0.1°.
Shadow length
The table gives the shadow of a vertical 1 m pole on level ground (1 / tan altitude). At 45° the shadow is as long as the object, at 20° almost three times as long. For a 10 m building simply multiply by 10.
Honest limits
Hills, buildings and trees often hide the sun earlier; the calculator only knows the mathematical horizon. Close to the horizon refraction varies with the weather, so sunrise and sunset can differ by a minute or two. According to NOAA the times are accurate to about a minute between 72° north and south and to within ten minutes in polar regions. Elevation above sea level is not included.
Privacy
Your location is only requested when you tap the button and is processed in your browser; nothing is sent to a server. Your browser remembers coordinates and time zone locally (“Reset inputs” clears them).
Frequently asked questions
Where is the sun right now?
Tap “Use my location” or enter coordinates. The calculator shows the sun’s azimuth (compass direction) and altitude for the current time and marks it in the charts.
How high is the sun at noon in summer and winter?
At solar noon, altitude = 90° − latitude + declination. In London (51.5° N) that is about 62° on 21 June and only about 15° on 21 December.
What does azimuth mean for the sun?
Azimuth is the sun’s compass direction measured clockwise from north: 90° is east, 180° south, 270° west. In the northern hemisphere the sun stands due south at solar noon.
Why is solar noon not at 12 o’clock?
Clock time is shared by a whole time zone, while the sun’s highest point depends on longitude; the equation of time (between about −14 and +16 minutes over the year) and daylight saving time shift it further. In London solar noon is around 1 pm in summer.
How long will my shadow be?
Shadow length = object height ÷ tan(sun altitude). The table gives the value for a 1 m pole; for a person 1.80 m tall, multiply by 1.8.
What is the difference between civil, nautical and astronomical twilight?
They end when the sun’s centre is 6°, 12° and 18° below the horizon. Until the end of civil twilight you can read outdoors without a lamp; after astronomical twilight the sky is fully dark.
Sources and legal basis
- NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory – Solar Calculator: Details of calculations (nach J. Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms)
- NOAA GML – General Solar Position Calculations (PDF)
- NOAA GML – NOAA Solar Calculator
- U.S. Naval Observatory – Astronomical Applications API (Vergleichswerte)
- MDN Web Docs – Geolocation.getCurrentPosition()
As of:
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