Free tool
Find the sun's elevation and direction for any place and moment, see how long a shadow an object casts, and read the yearly noon-sun curve for solar-panel and garden planning.
-8.3 deg down
NE
sun is down
London on Jun 20
Shortest shadow at solar noon (13:00), where the sun sits highest.
Noon sun elevation each month. Higher summer peaks and shallow winter sun set panel tilt and clearance.
A vertical object of height h casts a shadow of length h multiplied by the cotangent of the sun's elevation angle. At 45 degrees the shadow equals the height; at 30 degrees it is about 1.7 times the height; near the horizon it runs to the practical infinite. That single relationship drives fence shading, garden layout, and the gap you leave between rows of solar panels.
Solar noon, the moment the sun is highest and shadows are shortest, drifts away from clock noon for three reasons: your longitude relative to the time-zone meridian, daylight saving time, and the equation of time, which swings the sun up to about 16 minutes ahead or behind through the year. The sun-path arc above marks the true solar noon for your location and date, not 12:00 on the clock.
The yearly heatmap shows noon sun elevation month by month. Summer peaks sit high; midwinter sun is shallow and casts long shadows that can fall across a panel array from buildings, trees, or the row in front. Size your tilt and row spacing for the winter sun, when elevation is lowest, and you protect output year-round.
Planning around the light? Pair this with the golden hour calculator for sunrise, sunset, and twilight windows.