If the sun doesn't rise in the East, where in hell does it rise? And how do ants know this?

During the hot season in Thailand, it rises in the northeast, at an azimuth of 23 degrees above due east, same as the tilt of the earth's axis toward the sun, as you can see on my pub sketch.

And it sets in the northwest, 23 degrees above the west. So really all you need to know is the tilt of the axis toward the sun, and that will tell you the direction of sunrise and sunset.

Here is an equation for the angle:

azimuth (above east or west)=-23.4*cos(360*(m+.3)/12)

where m is the month 0 to 12 (eg 1.5=feb 15)

Now the amazing thing is that with an MIT degree I didn't know this when I came to Thailand, I thought that the sun rose due east! 

Even an ant, with no MIT degree, knows better! (More on this later). My mother, with 2 years of Boston Teachers College, who taught me astronomy with an apple and an orange, knew better!

If the sun doesn't rise in the East, where in hell does it rise? And how do ants know this?

During the hot season in Thailand, it rises in the northeast, at an azimuth of 23 degrees above due east, same as the tilt of the earth's axis toward the sun, as you can see on my pub sketch.

And it sets in the northwest, 23 degrees above the west. So really all you need to know is the tilt of the axis toward the sun, and that will tell you the direction of sunrise and sunset.

Here is an equation for the angle:

azimuth (above east or west)=-23.4*cos(360*(m+.3)/12)

where m is the month 0 to 12 (eg 1.5=feb 15)

Now the amazing thing is that with an MIT degree I didn't know this when I came to Thailand, I thought that the sun rose due east! 

Even an ant, with no MIT degree, knows better! (More on this later). My mother, with 2 years of Boston Teachers College, who taught me astronomy with an apple and an orange, knew better!

Is there really a blazing sun in the tropics?

Solar irradiation graphic by William Connolley based on HadCM3 data.

The heat was growing worse and worse. April was nearly over, but there was no hope of rain for another three weeks, five weeks it might be. Even the lovely transient dawns were spoiled by the thought of the long, blinding hours to come, when one's head would ache, and the glare would penetrate through every covering and glue up one's eyelids with restless sleep. No one, Oriental or European, could keep awake in the heat of day without a struggle.  --George Orwell, Burmese Days TNR 16

Actually, the sun in SE Asia is not especially blazing, rather 50 to 75 percent blazing. George Orwell is not really talking about the heat of the sun in his novel/memoir Burmese Days, it's mainly really.... other stuff that make it so uncomfortable. We'll be looking at all that.

But for now, take a look at this map which shows how much energy actually reaches the earth on the average over a year. Thailand -- and much of SE Asia including Orwell's Burma, is about 200 watts per square meter over the year, the same as the US south and most of the central and South America.

And why aren't we seeing a smooth red belt of blazing heat right across the map in the tropical region between The Tropic of Cancer and The Tropic of Capricon? Because over much of the area, high water vapor including clouds are blocking 25 to 50 percent of the solar radiation. This potent factor may be enough to offset global warming in these regions.

Is there really a blazing sun in the tropics?

Solar irradiation graphic by William Connolley based on HadCM3 data.

The heat was growing worse and worse. April was nearly over, but there was no hope of rain for another three weeks, five weeks it might be. Even the lovely transient dawns were spoiled by the thought of the long, blinding hours to come, when one's head would ache, and the glare would penetrate through every covering and glue up one's eyelids with restless sleep. No one, Oriental or European, could keep awake in the heat of day without a struggle.  --George Orwell, Burmese Days TNR 16

Actually, the sun in SE Asia is not especially blazing, rather 50 to 75 percent blazing. George Orwell is not really talking about the heat of the sun in his novel/memoir Burmese Days, it's mainly really.... other stuff that make it so uncomfortable. We'll be looking at all that.

But for now, take a look at this map which shows how much energy actually reaches the earth on the average over a year. Thailand -- and much of SE Asia including Orwell's Burma, is about 200 watts per square meter over the year, the same as the US south and most of the central and South America.

And why aren't we seeing a smooth red belt of blazing heat right across the map in the tropical region between The Tropic of Cancer and The Tropic of Capricon? Because over much of the area, high water vapor including clouds are blocking 25 to 50 percent of the solar radiation. This potent factor may be enough to offset global warming in these regions.

Does the tropical sun rise in the east?

...and sink in the west?

Well not exactly, at least here in Bangkok in the hot season, April of every year. The illustration here which I made in the pub the other night shows this for June 21, summer solstice. It actually rises in the northeast and sets in the northwest, and that is a very important detail because it affects which condos get deadly solar heat at different times of the day.


Worth a book in itself? Maybe. It would have saved me a lot of discomfort, and money too, if I had understood this fifteen years ago. 

Does the tropical sun rise in the east?

...and sink in the west?

Well not exactly, at least here in Bangkok in the hot season, April of every year. The illustration here which I made in the pub the other night shows this for June 21, summer solstice. It actually rises in the northeast and sets in the northwest, and that is a very important detail because it affects which condos get deadly solar heat at different times of the day.


Worth a book in itself? Maybe. It would have saved me a lot of discomfort, and money too, if I had understood this fifteen years ago.