Solar Noon Calculator – Understand the Sun’s Path for Any Location
Solar noon, sunrise and sunset are key markers of the Sun’s daily path across the sky. They affect daylight availability, photography, solar panel output, prayer times, gardening, outdoor work and everyday planning. This Solar Noon Calculator from MyTimeCalculator brings together four tools in one: solar noon, sunrise and sunset, day length and detailed sun position.
Instead of consulting multiple tables or astronomy apps, you can pick a date, specify a location and get a clear picture of how the Sun moves through the sky on that day. The calculator uses well-known solar position formulas that approximate the Sun’s apparent motion relative to Earth.
Shared Date & Location Panel
All four modes use the same date and location information. You can:
- Choose a calendar date in your local time.
- Enter latitude and longitude manually, or use the Use my location button to auto-detect them.
- Set your time zone offset from UTC (for example, 4 for UTC+4, −5 for UTC−5).
- Adjust decimal places for more or less precision.
Auto-location is convenient when you are calculating solar times “for here, today”. For other places, just type coordinates or paste them from a map service.
Mode 1 – Solar Noon Time and Sun Elevation
Solar noon is the moment when the Sun crosses the local meridian and reaches its highest elevation for the day. Because time zones are broad and the equation of time shifts solar time relative to clock time, solar noon almost never occurs exactly at 12:00 on your watch.
This mode reports:
- Solar noon time (local): When the Sun is highest in the sky.
- Sun elevation at solar noon: How high above the horizon the Sun is at that moment.
- Equation of time: A measure (in minutes) of the difference between solar time and mean clock time.
- Solar declination: The Sun’s angular position north or south of the celestial equator for that date.
Mode 2 – Sunrise & Sunset Times
Sunrise and sunset depend on your latitude, the date and Earth’s axial tilt. This mode uses your date and coordinates to estimate:
- Sunrise time (local)
- Sunset time (local)
- Day length based on those times
- Polar day / night status for high-latitude locations
On some dates near the Arctic and Antarctic circles the Sun may never rise or never set. In those cases, the calculator will show that the Sun stays above or below the horizon all day.
Mode 3 – Day Length
Day length is simply the time between sunrise and sunset. However, seeing it explicitly can help you:
- Plan outdoor events and photography sessions.
- Estimate available solar energy for panels.
- Understand seasonal changes in your region.
This mode reuses the same underlying calculations as the sunrise/sunset tab, but focuses on the duration of daylight and the corresponding times.
Mode 4 – Sun Position (Elevation & Azimuth)
Sometimes you need more than just sunrise, noon and sunset. The sun position mode lets you pick a specific local time and returns:
- Solar elevation: Angle above the horizon.
- Solar azimuth: Compass direction measured from north (0° = North, 90° = East, 180° = South, 270° = West).
- Hour angle: How far the Sun has moved in time from the local solar noon (negative in the morning, positive in the afternoon).
This is useful for photographers, architects, solar designers and anyone interested in shade, glare or the orientation of sunlight at a particular moment.
Understanding Key Solar Terms
- Solar declination: The Sun’s angle north or south of Earth’s equatorial plane; changes slowly over the year.
- Equation of time: A correction that accounts for Earth’s elliptical orbit and axial tilt, explaining why solar noon drifts relative to 12:00.
- Hour angle: The angular distance of the Sun from the local meridian, directly related to time since solar noon.
- Elevation and azimuth: Together describe the Sun’s position in the sky relative to your horizon and compass directions.
How to Use This Solar Calculator Effectively
- Use the Use my location button for quick “here and today” calculations.
- Paste coordinates from a map for remote locations or travel planning.
- Switch dates to see how sunrise, sunset and solar noon shift through the seasons.
- Combine day length and sun position data to plan photography, outdoor events or solar energy usage.
This tool is designed for education and planning. For navigation or scientific observatories, always compare with official astronomical ephemerides.
Related Astronomy & Outdoor Planning Tools
Try these additional tools when planning your day, training sessions or outdoor activities:
Solar Noon & Sun Path FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions About Solar Noon, Sunrise & Day Length
Learn how solar noon works and why the Sun’s schedule rarely matches the clock exactly.
Solar noon depends on your exact longitude within the time zone and the equation of time. Time zones are defined in one-hour blocks, but your local solar time shifts continuously with longitude. Earth’s elliptical orbit and axial tilt add a small seasonal wobble, so solar noon can be several minutes before or after 12:00 on the clock.
As Earth orbits the Sun with a tilted axis, the Sun’s apparent path across the sky shifts north and south. This changes how long the Sun spends above the horizon and moves sunrise and sunset earlier or later. Around the solstices, day length changes more slowly; around the equinoxes, it changes more quickly.
Near the polar regions, there can be periods of “midnight Sun” (24-hour daylight) in summer and polar night (24-hour darkness) in winter. In those cases, the Sun never crosses the horizon line, so classical sunrise or sunset times do not exist for that date and location.
For everyday uses like photography, orientation and general planning, the azimuth and elevation values are usually accurate to within a degree or two. Small differences can arise from atmospheric refraction, local terrain, and the approximations used in the underlying formulas.
Daylight saving time effectively shifts the time zone by one hour. You can reflect this by adjusting the time zone offset field (for example, from −5 to −4). When you use the device’s current time zone, the offset typically already includes any active daylight saving change.