Sun Path & Shadows
Solar position and shadow lengths for any site and date
Sun-path chart
About Sun Path & Shadows
The sun path calculator shows where the sun is in the sky for any place, date, and time on Earth. Enter coordinates — or let the browser use your location — and it computes the solar altitude and azimuth, sunrise, solar noon, and sunset times, and draws the full sun-path chart for that day.
Give it an object height and it also estimates the shadow length, which is the practical question behind most solar studies: will the neighbor’s building shade the garden in December, how far does a tree’s shadow reach at 3 p.m., where should the terrace go? Azimuths are reported with compass directions, and times are shown in a zone estimated from the longitude.
Architects use it for site analysis and window orientation, photographers for planning golden-hour shots, and solar installers for a first shading check. The astronomy is pure solar geometry computed in your browser, free — terrain, obstructions, and weather are not taken into account, and polar day or night is flagged when it occurs.
How to use Sun Path & Shadows
- Enter the latitude and longitude, or click “Use my location.”
- Pick the date and set the time of day.
- Enter an object height if you want the shadow length estimated.
- Read the solar altitude, azimuth, shadow length, and the sunrise, solar noon, and sunset times.
- Explore the sun-path chart to see the sun’s full arc for that date.