Sun position and shadow length calculator

Sun altitude, direction and shadow length for any place, date and time.

  • Free, no sign-up
  • Runs in your browser
How it is calculated

Sun position uses the NOAA solar equations (declination and equation of time from the date, hour angle from local time, longitude and time zone). Shadow length = object height รท tan(altitude). Shadow direction is opposite the sun's azimuth.

Check locally: Accurate to within about a degree; it ignores atmospheric refraction near the horizon and terrain.

Questions

Why is there no shadow at night?

When the sun is below the horizon, its altitude is negative and no shadow is cast.

Is anything I enter saved or sent?

No. The calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. You can copy the result, print it or download it as a CSV.