0% found this document useful (0 votes)
29 views51 pages

Lecture 3 SAR 2024

Uploaded by

Eish K
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
29 views51 pages

Lecture 3 SAR 2024

Uploaded by

Eish K
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 51

Lecture 3

Basic earth-sun angles, derived


solar angles
Terms related to the Sun and the Earth
Celestial Sphere
• Sky in the clear night appears that the stars, planets,
moon etc. are all located the same distance away
from the observer

• The sky may be assumed to be a large sphere

• This imaginary sphere is Celestial Sphere.

• Celestial sphere is an abstract sphere that has an


arbitrarily large radius and is concentric to Earth.
Zenith
• A point on the celestial sphere directly over the observer's
head.
• change with respect to the location.

Nadir
• The point of the celestial sphere diametrically opposite to
the zenith.
• would also change with respect to the location.

Unlike zenith, Nadir is not visible


Visible Horizon
• The distant line along which
earth and sky appear to meet

• It appears to an observer that


the celestial sphere meets the
ground

• The location of this apparent


meeting is called the visible
horizon
Astronomical Horizon
• Visible horizon is uneven
• A horizon, same distance away
from the zenity (line joining
the zenith to the centre of the
earth)
• It is an even circle which may
be either below or above the
horizon
• can be obtained by managing
an angular distance of 90o in all
directions from the zenity
Poles of the earth
• The ends of the axis of rotation of the earth
• North and South

Earth's Equator
• An imaginary great circle normal to the earth's
axis
• dividing the distance b/w the earth's poles along
its surface into two equal parts
• divides the earth into two hemispheres called
Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Meridian
• An imaginary great circle passing thro’ the Royal
observatory Greenwich and the two poles,
intersecting the equator at right angles, is called
the prime (or Greenwich) meridian.
• Similar great circles have been drawn at intervals
of 15° through the two poles.

Longitude - angular distance of the location,


measured east or west from the prime meridian
(longitude of Trichy is 78.7047° E).
Basic Earth Sun angles
The position of a point P on the Earth’s surface
with respect to the sun’s rays is known at any
instant by using basic earth sun angles
• Latitude (Φ)
• Hour angle (ω)
• Sun’s declination (δ)
Latitude (Φ)
• Angle between the line joining the point of location to
the centre of the Earth and its projection on the
horizontal equatorial plane.
• When the point is north of the Equator, the angle is
positive and when south it is negative.
Latitude (Φ)
• It is the angular distance, north or south of the
equator measured from the centre of the earth.

• It is the angle between OP and projection of OP on the


equatorial plane.(OP’)
Hour angle (ω)
• Angle measured in the Earth’s equatorial plane,
between the projection of line joining the point of
location to the centre of the Earth (OP’) and the
projection of the line extending from the centre of the
Sun to the centre of the Earth.
Hour angle (ω)
• It is the angle through the earth must turn to bring the
meridian of a point directly in line with the sun’s rays.
• It is an angular measure of time.
• It varies from -180° to 180°
• Hour angle ω = 15 (12-LST).
Sun’s declination (δ)
• It is the angular distance of the Sun’s rays north or
south of the hemisphere / earth’s equator.

• It is the angle made by the line extending from the


centre of the Sun to the centre of the Earth and the
projection of this line upon the Earth’s equatorial
plane.
Sun’s declination (δ)
• The Sun’s declination, in degrees, for any given day
(n) may be calculated using Cooper’s equation
(1969).

• δ is zero on two equinox days (Mar’21st and Sep’22nd )


• Vary between 23.5°on June 22nd to - 23.5° on
Dec 22nd

• Winter solstice - the sun rays would be


23.5° south of the earth's equator (δ =- 23.5°)

• Summer solstice - the sun's rays would be 23.5° North


of the earth's equator (δ = 23.5°)

• Solstice means "sun standing still"

• Equinox means "equal nights”


Variation of Sun's declination
Solar Time
• All the values of time in Solar Energy computations
are expressed in terms of Apparent solar time (true
ST)
• It is required to convert the clock time (I.S.T. for
India) to the local solar time.
• GM (0 longitude) is taken as reference for the time
• Time reckoned from mid night is - Universal time or
Greenwich Civil Time (GCT or GMT).
• GCT is expressed on an hour scale from 0h to 24h
Local Civil Time
• Local civil time (LCT or LMT) is reckoned from
the longitude of the place on any particular
meridian.

• Local civil time may deviate from true solar


time by as much as 4.5° due to the elliptical
shape of the earth's orbit and to its increase in
velocity a the perihelion
Local Solar Time
• Time as measured by the apparent diurnal
motion of the Sun is called Local Solar Time.

• The time that would be shown by a sun dial.

• Difference b/w LST and LCT is equation of time


LST = LCT + E
Where, LCT – Local Civil Time and
E – Equation of time, minutes
The Sun takes 4 minutes to traverse 1° of longitude
• It is necessary to convert standard time to solar
time by applying two corrections.

• First - any difference in longitude between the


location and the meridian on which the LST is
based (e.g. 82.5° E for India).

• Second - equation of time which takes into


account the various perturbations in the
earth's orbit and the rate of rotation
Equation of time correction
• At solar noon ω being zero and each hour
equating 15° of longitude with morning
positive and afternoon negative
(e.g. ω = + 15° for 11:00; ω =- 37.5° for 14:30)

• Hour angle ω can be expressed as :


ω = 15 (12-LST)
Derived solar angles
Altitude angle (α) / Solar Altitude
• Vertical angle between the
projection of Sun’s rays on the
horizontal plane and the direction of
Sun’s rays passing through the point.

• It is the angle of the sun relative to


the earth’s horizon

• α value varies based on time of the


day and φ latitude.
• Region close to the equator have
higher values than regions near the
poles.
Zenith angle (θz)
• Vertical angle between
the Sun’s rays and a line
perpendicular to the
horizontal plane through
the point

• It is the complementary
angle of the Sun’s
altitude angle.
Solar azimuth angle (γs)
• It is the horizontal angle
measured from the north to
the horizontal projection of
Sun’s rays (positive when
measured westwise)
Surface Azimuth Angle (γ)
• Angle in the horizontal plane, between the line due
south and the projection of the normal to the surface
on the horizontal plane; can vary from -180° to +180°.

• The angle will be taken negative, if the projection is


east of south and positive if west of south for Northern
hemisphere and vice-versa for southern hemisphere,
Zero point being south.
Slope (s)
• Angle between the plane surface, and the
horizontal
• Positive for surface sloping towards south
and negative for surfaces sloping towards
north.
Incident angle (θ)
• Angle being measured between the beam of
rays and normal to the plane.
• From spherical geometry the relation between θ and
other angles is given by the equation
• For vertical surface S = 90°

• For Horizontal surfaces S = 0 and θ = θz


• For the surface facing due south ϒ = 0, θ = θT

• θT = Incident angle
Horizontal surface Inclined surface

You might also like