Ottawa, Ontario

Latitude 45 19 N  (45.3),  Longitude  75 40 W   (- 75.7)

Sun and weather statistics

Click here for NASA SSE data (solar radiation and surface weather) for Ottawa

Parameter definitions for the NASA SSE data presented at above link

Solar position chart for latitude 45º :


solar-angle-chart-latitude-45.jpg

Solar azimuth angle:  the horizontal angle between south and the position of the sun.
Solar altitude angle:  the vertical angle between the horizon and the position of the sun.
Zenith angle: (theta sub z) the angle between vertical and the position of the sun.

The University of Oregon Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory offers an on-line program that creates sun position charts  for any point on the surface of the earth, in either solar time or local standard time.  The program may be used at  http://solardat.uoregon.edu/SunChartProgram.html.  It creates Adobe PDF files that may be printed to produce full page images that are convenient for plotting the shade produced by objects near a solar collector.  I have used the this program to produce files for Ottawa which are available here: June to December - EST (pdf), and December to June - EST (pdf). I chose to produce these charts to show the azimuth of the sun at local standard time (Universal Time - 5 hours = Eastern Standard Time). As a result, the line for the position of the sun at noon is S shaped, as compared to the straight line in the chart shown above. 

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