There she goes again, and how to calculate sun angles

There goes the sun that is.

Photo: Jonathon Spitzer climbs Geurt's Ridge on Olympus the other day with low sun and shortening daylight.

 I Went for a climb the other day with Spitzer and we were commenting on how early the sun sets these days. It dropped below the far horizon of the Oquirrs before 5pm! Then, the next day at the UDOT Region 3 avalanche forecasting headquarters (Provo Shed) my legs were kinda sore, so I sat at the computer and made a sun graph. I like to make these graphs plotting max altitude of the sun vs. day of the year. And this time of year we really start to get down there into the low sun angles.
One of the coolest things I learned in college was that you can figure out what the lowest maximum sun angle will be where you live (which will be on the solstice, 12/20ish), quite easily by using a bit of earth science.

Photo: A late fall is in full effect here in Utahlandia.

First: You need to know your latitude: Example, 40 degrees N

Second: Remember that the sun is directly overhead (90 degrees altitude) at the tropic of capricorn on the N Hemisphere winter solstice. This is 23.3 degrees S latitude.

Third: Add the total angle...40+23.3= 63.3 degrees.

Fourth: Subtract this total angle from 90 (which is directly overhead)...90-63.3= 26.7 degrees.

Hence, on the shortest day of the year at 40N, the sun will only reach 26.7 degrees above the horizon! Pretty cool eh? Now, who out there in blog land has the lowest sun angle on the solstice?

You can also use the Navy's Astronomical Applications Department website and find sun/moonrise and set times and sun angles throughout the year for your specific location.

Photo: Evening along the Wasatch Front.

We unintentionally timed our long scramble on Olympus perfect, finishing as darkness began to set in over the Great Salt Lake Valley. And the days get shorter still...

 Get out there and enjoy the low sun while it lasts!