Solar azimuth angle be interpreted as the angle between zero and 180 degrees when the hour angle, "h", is negative (morning) and the angle between 180 and 360 degrees when the hour angle, "h", is positive (afternoon). (These two formulas are equivalent if you assume the "solar elevation angle" approximation formula). The formulas use the following terminology: Solar azimuth angle The solar azimuth angle is the azimuth angle of the Sun's position. This horizontal coordinate defines the Sun's relative direction along the local horizon, whereas the solar zenith angle (or its complementary angle solar elevation) defines the Sun's apparent altitude. There are several
Decimal degrees radius of the semi-major axis of the Earth at the equator is 6,378,137.0 meters resulting in a circumference of 40,075,161.2 meters. The equator is divided into 360 degrees of longitude, so each degree at the equator represents 111,319.9 meters or approximately 111.32 km. As one moves away from the equator towards a pole, however, one degree of longitude is multiplied by the cosine of the latitude, decreasing the distance, approaching zero at the pole. The number of decimal places required for a particular precision at the equator is: A value in decimal degrees to a precision of 4 decimal places