A Construction to Determine the Azimuths and Times of Sunrise and Sunset

Abstract

This article describes a paper-and-pencil construction to determine and graphically depict with reasonable accuracy the times and azimuths of sunrise and sunset on any day of the year at any location on Earth. The construction requires, as input, a date (or the sun’s declination) and the latitude and longitude of the location in question, and one needs only a compass, protractor, straight edge, and some dexterity to produce nice results. The method is visual and develops naturally along phenomenological lines, and so lends itself naturally to the classroom.