Is the sun brighter in Texas than in Maine? Are there scientific reasons for this?

Question

Ongoing debate with a few of us who used to live near DC and have moved to Texas. Some of us think the sun really IS brighter down here than farther north.

Is there a mathematical equation for position on earth relative to sun's perceived brightness?

Answer 1

It's not that you are any closer to the Sun in Texas versus in Maine, and it's not that the Sun is going through more atmosphere when it is lower in the sky. When the Sun is lower, its light is more spread out (so is your shadow, for that matter) so less of the Sun's energy falls on a given area (a square meter, say, or a square foot) when it is lower in the sky.

Try this - take a flashlight and point it straight at the wall (so an imaginary line through the flashlight makes a 90 degree angle with the wall). The light is concentrated in one small spot. Now aim the flashlight at an angle other than 90 degrees to the wall, and you'll notice that the same amount of light is now spread out over a larger surface area, and where the light is shining, it's not as bright as it was before (assuming the flashlight is still the same distance from the wall). The same thing happens with sunlight. When the Sun is high in the sky it heats you more efficiently because its light is more concentrated.

Since Earth is a sphere and Texas is farther south than Maine, the Sun at "high noon" will be higher in the sky (on any given day) in Texas than it will be in Maine (play with a globe and a flashlight to see this). So at noon on the first day of summer, for example, you will get sunburned much faster in Texas than you will in Maine, because the Sun is higher in the sky. You can figure out the exact amount of the difference with a little trigonometry - the latitude difference between Maine and Texas is the same as the altitude difference of the Sun as seen at those two places.

Answer 2

Yes.

The sun sits more directly overhead in Texas than Maine. Therefore its light travels though less atmosphere.

I am not sure why people have a problem with this, because the daily traverse of the sun across the sky tells you how the sun's heat and light changes with its position in the sky.

Otherwise, the sun would feel as hot soon after it has risen as it does at midday.

As you get near the equator, the sun rises higher in the sky and hence its rays are more direct.

Equation? Yes, it would be simple trigonometry based on the angle of the sun and the subsequent increased amount of atmosphere through which the rays have to pass.

Draw it. I can't do it here, but you would have a triangle with the perpendicular going straight up (the overhead position), and the hypotoneuse would be the line to the sun at its highest point in Maine or Texas.

The ratio of one hypotoneuse length to the other would be the ratio of atmospheric blockage from one site to the other.

Have a chat with your math teacher if you can't think how to do the trig.

PS - PLEASE IGNORE ANYONE WHO TALKS ABOUT ONE SITE BEING NEARER THE SUN. THAT IS GARBAGE.

Answer 3

Go find one of those big giant Hollywood movie premier spotlights. Stand directly in front of it and look at it. Now, go stand off to the side so that you get hit by some of its rays, but are at a greater angle to them. It will appear less bright, but still make ya squint. The closer to the equator you go the more into the direct rays of the Sun you get.
It is this overall directness [caused by the Earth's tilt on its axis] that causes the seasons. The Earth in its orbit is closer to the Sun during the Northern hemisphere's winter than it is during the Northern Hemisphere's summer. But, in the summer, even though we are farther away, we get more direct sunlight up here. So, it's hotter---unless you reside here in FL, then it's not just hotter, it's been set to "Broil".

Answer 4

entire explanation: The sunlight is huge and has the suited gravity interior the image voltaic equipment. using it rather is remarkable gravity it creates a dip interior the gravitational plane under it. This dip makes a sort of bowl shape below the sunlight. Comparitive to putting a bowling ball on a trampoline. Sling a marble in direction of the bowling ball on the trampoline and the marble will start up the spin around the bowling ball until it is going to actual collides with it. the only distinction between that occasion and the planets around the sunlight is this: whilst the planets circulate around the sunlight, the planets use their very own mass and gravity to truly sling around the sunlight; they're exerting stress faraway from the sunlight as they sling, this keeps them from falling and keeps adequate momentum to take care of an orbit.

Answer 5

Yes, you're very slightly closer and the sun rises higher in the sky during the day, so you get more sunlight.