How do you find the sun's altitude in the sky?
Quick Answer: The sun's altitude is the angle between the sun and the horizon, measured in degrees. You find it by using a solar calculator, a sextant, or apps that use your location and time to compute how high the sun is above the horizon.
The sun's altitude tells you how high the sun appears in the sky at any moment. It ranges from 0° at sunrise or sunset, up to 90° when the sun is directly overhead.
To find it yourself, you can measure the angle between the horizon and the sun using simple tools like a protractor or sextant. Or, you can enter your location and time into online solar calculators or smartphone apps that do the math for you.
This angle changes throughout the day and year because of Earth’s rotation and orbit, so knowing your exact time and place is key to an accurate reading.