Al Sole| Location | - |
| Local Time | - |
| Solar Noon Offset | - |
Website by Chris Yunker
Earth's orbit around the Sun is elliptical, not circular. The distance varies throughout the year:
Where:
• AU = 149,597,870.7 km (Astronomical Unit, average Earth-Sun distance)
• e = 0.0167 (eccentricity of Earth's orbit)
• M = Mean Anomaly (angle from perihelion)
• Perihelion (closest point) occurs around January 3
• Aphelion (farthest point) occurs around July 4
• This creates a ~5 million km variation in Earth-Sun distance
Your personal distance from the Sun varies based on your position on Earth's surface and the time of day:
Where:
• R = 6,371 km (Earth's radius)
• lat = your latitude in radians
• H = solar hour angle (your rotation position)
• Earth rotates 15 degrees per hour (360°/24h)
• At solar noon (H = 0°): you're closest to the Sun
• At solar midnight (H = 180°): you're farthest from the Sun
• Maximum variation: ~12,742 km (Earth's diameter)
Whether you're facing the Sun (day) or away from it (night):
Solar noon occurs when the Sun is highest in your sky:
• Each 15° of longitude = 1 hour time difference
• This doesn't account for time zones or daylight saving time
• It represents true solar time based on Earth's rotation
The angle of the Sun above or below the horizon at your location:
Where:
• δ = solar declination (Sun's angle relative to equator)
• N = day of year (1-365)
• Varies from -23.45° (winter solstice) to +23.45° (summer solstice)
Where:
• α = solar elevation angle
• φ = observer's latitude
• δ = solar declination
• H = solar hour angle
• Positive values: Sun above horizon (daytime)
• Negative values: Sun below horizon (nighttime)
• 0°: Sun at horizon (sunrise/sunset)
This application recalculates all values every 100 milliseconds to show how your distance changes in real-time as Earth rotates on its axis. You can see the numbers change continuously!
All calculations use simplified astronomical models suitable for educational purposes.