Sun path chart program This program creates sun path charts in Cartesian coordinates for: (1) "typical" dates of each month (i.e.; days receiving about the mean amount of solar radiation for a day in the given month); (2) dates spaced about 30 days apart, from one solstice to the next; or (3) a single date you specify. You can select whether hours are plotted using local standard time or solar time. In addition, there are a number of options available to allow you to alter the chart's appearance. Resulting charts are displayed in your Web browser window, and they are meant to be printed out. Two formats are currently available: PDF (Adobe) and PNG (a standard international graphics format). The create sun path charts in polar coordinates go to the polar sun path charts Web page. For more information, visit our Web page about using sun charts. Step 1—Specify location   Use these values:         Latitude (decimal degrees)         Longitude (decimal degrees)     [Important: south latitude and west longitude are given in negative degrees. Minutes and seconds must be converted to decimal degrees; e.g., 30 min. = 0.5 deg.]   Look up location with:         US 5-digit ZIP code Step 2—Specify time zone   Time zone UTC - 12h UTC - 11h UTC - 10h (HST) UTC - 9h30m UTC - 9h (AKST) UTC - 8h30m UTC - 8h (PST) UTC - 7h (MST) UTC - 6h (CST) UTC - 5h (EST) UTC - 4h (AST) UTC - 3h30m UTC - 3h UTC - 2h UTC - 1h UTC UTC + 1h UTC + 2h UTC + 3h UTC + 3h30m UTC + 4h UTC + 4h30m UTC + 5h UTC + 5h30m UTC + 6h UTC + 6h30m UTC + 7h UTC + 7h30m UTC + 8h UTC + 8h30m UTC + 8h45m UTC + 9h UTC + 9h30m UTC + 10h UTC + 10h30m UTC + 11h UTC + 11h30m UTC + 12h UTC + 13h UTC + 14h Step 3—Choose data to be plotted   Plot dates 30 or 31 days apart, between solstices, December through June   Plot dates 30 or 31 days apart, between solstices, June through December   Plot dates having average solar radiation for December through June   Plot dates having average solar radiation for June through December   Plot only this date (YYYY-MM-DD):   Plot hours in local solar time   Plot hours in local standard time Step 4—Set chart format parameters   Extend azimuth axis from 0° to 360°   Crop azimuth axis to fit plotted data   Extend elevation axis to 90°   Crop elevation axis to fit plotted data   Show hours in AM/PM style   Show hours in international style   Color sun path curves Black Red Green Blue Cyan Yellow Orange Magenta   Set style of sun path curves to Solid Dots Dashes   Make sun path curves 1 2 3 4 5 pixels wide   Color hour curves Black Red Green Blue Cyan Yellow Orange Magenta   Set style of hour curves to Solid Dots Dashes   Make hour curves 1 2 3 4 5 pixels wide   Color chart label Black Red Green Blue Cyan Yellow Orange Magenta Step 5—Specify labeling options   Enter optional text, such as location name, for display in the chart label. Parameters such as latitude will be shown automatically.   Line 1   Line 2   Place label in upper left corner   Place label in upper right corner   Place label in lower center Step 6—Choose file format for chart   PDF (Portable Data Format). We recommend this format, provided you have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. PDF files can be easily resized to fit any printer page size.   PNG (Portable Network Graphics). This format may be useful to you, especially if you have Netscape Navigator version 4.x, or later, for Microsoft Windows. However, this format cannot be resized without using a graphics editor. Hint: If the file doesn't print on a single sheet of paper, check your printer settings and browser page settings (margins). It is also possible to import the PNG file into a document and resize the image in the document before printing the page. Step 7—Click the 'Create chart' button © 2007, UO Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory. Last revised: March 5, 2007. Top of page Site map Software tools Home page Search About sun charts Sponsors Contact us Home page URL: solardat.uoregon.edu