elevation angles?

Question

Suppose that you live at a latitude 40 degrees N. What is the elevation angle of the Sun above the southern horizon at noon
(a) at the time of the vernal equinox?
(b) at the time of the winter solstice?

Answer 1

Hi. At the vernal equinox the Sun crosses the equator. The elevation would be 90 - 40. (It would be zero at the North Pole and the Sun would 'move' along the horizon.) At the winter solstice the Earth would be tilted about 23.6 degrees away from the Sun, so the elevation would be about 23.6 degrees less.