Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
For example, with an axial tilt is 23°, and at a latitude of 45°, then the summer's peak sun angle is 68° (giving sin(68°) = 93% insolation at the surface), while winter's least sun angle is 22° (giving sin(22°) = 37% insolation at the surface). Thus, the greater the axial tilt, the stronger the seasons' variations at a given latitude.
In fact, under clear skies a solar panel placed horizontally at the north or south pole at midsummer receives more sunlight over 24 hours (cosine of angle of incidence equal to sin(23.5°) or about 0.40) than a horizontal panel at the equator at the equinox (average cosine equal to 1/ π or about 0.32).
The effective collection area of a flat-panel solar collector varies with the cosine of the misalignment of the panel with the Sun.. Sunlight has two components: the "direct beam" that carries about 90% of the solar energy [6] [7] and the "diffuse sunlight" that carries the remainder – the diffuse portion is the blue sky on a clear day, and is a larger proportion of the total on cloudy days.
These factors vary with atmospheric composition, geographic location, and time (see position of the Sun). While directional-hemispherical reflectance factor is calculated for a single angle of incidence (i.e., for a given position of the Sun), albedo is the directional integration of reflectance over all solar angles in a given period. The ...
The solar azimuth angle is the azimuth (horizontal angle with respect to north) of the Sun's position. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] 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 .
Beta angle ()In orbital mechanics, the beta angle is the angle between a satellite's orbital plane around Earth and the geocentric position of the Sun. [1] The beta angle determines the percentage of time that a satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO) spends in direct sunlight, absorbing solar radiation. [2]
It is the complement to the solar altitude or solar elevation, which is the altitude angle or elevation angle between the sun’s rays and a horizontal plane. [1] [2] At solar noon, the zenith angle is at a minimum and is equal to latitude minus solar declination angle. This is the basis by which ancient mariners navigated the oceans. [3]
Intensity of thermal radiation from the sun depends on view factor. In radiative heat transfer, a view factor, , is the proportion of the radiation which leaves surface that strikes surface . In a complex 'scene' there can be any number of different objects, which can be divided in turn into even more surfaces and surface segments.