The noon Sun through a year

Explainer · 0:49 · silent, with on-screen words

How high the noon Sun stands over Georgetown, Guyana, every day of 2027, against London: overhead twice a year near the equator, and why tilt, not distance, makes the seasons.

The video file (MP4, 1948 kB)

Shows Georgetown (6.80° N, 58.16° W) and London (51.51° N), the Sun at local solar noon every day of 2027; Georgetown times in Guyana time.

Chapters

  1. 0:00 The question
  2. 0:04 Climbing to overhead
  3. 0:11 Overhead in April
  4. 0:15 North of overhead
  5. 0:25 Overhead in September
  6. 0:29 Down to December
  7. 0:37 Tilt, not distance

From the lesson Why Seasons Happen: Axial Tilt Explained.

What the video shows, in words

A silent 48-second explainer. It shows how high the Sun stands at local solar noon over Georgetown, Guyana, on every day of 2027, beside London, with a 1 m stick and its noon shadow, and a chart of the year.

Noon heights: 20 Mar 2027: Georgetown 83.1° up (south), London 38.4° up; 21 Jun 2027: Georgetown 73.4° up (north), London 61.9° up; 23 Sep 2027: Georgetown 83.0° up (south), London 38.4° up; 21 Dec 2027: Georgetown 59.8° up (south), London 15.1° up.

The Sun passes overhead at Georgetown twice: between the noons of 6 Apr 2027 and 7 Apr 2027 (89.7° and 89.9° up), and between 4 Sep 2027 and 5 Sep 2027 (89.7° and 89.9°). Between those dates the noon Sun is north of overhead and noon shadows point south; the rest of the year they point north. In London the noon Sun is always in the south.

Earth is closest to the Sun on 2 Jan 2027 (147.1 million km) and farthest on 5 Jul 2027 (152.1 million km). Computed with astronomy-engine; Georgetown is 6.80° N, 58.16° W, and its noon times are Guyana time (UTC-4).

  1. 0:00 How high does the Sun climb at noon, and does it ever stand straight overhead? Watch every noon of 2027.
  2. 0:04 From January the noon Sun climbs higher over Georgetown each day, standing in the south, so a stick’s noon shadow points north. At the March equinox it is 83° up.
  3. 0:11 Between noon on 6 Apr and noon on 7 Apr the Sun passes overhead: 89.9° up at noon, and a stick casts almost no shadow.
  4. 0:15 Then the noon Sun stands north of overhead and the shadow points south. Furthest north at the June solstice: 73° up, in the north, while London has its highest noon Sun, 62°.
  5. 0:25 Between noon on 4 Sep and noon on 5 Sep it passes overhead again (89.9° up), going south; the shadow flips back to the north.
  6. 0:29 At the December solstice Georgetown’s noon Sun is at its lowest, 60° up, and London’s only 15°.
  7. 0:37 Earth is closest to the Sun on 2 Jan (147.1 million km) and farthest on 5 Jul (152.1 million km): the seasons follow the noon Sun’s height, set by Earth’s tilt, not by distance.
  8. 0:45 Near the equator the noon Sun swings through overhead twice a year; far from it, the swing is the seasons. Try the shadow stick in the lesson.

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