The Shadow Calculator is a great, free online tool for calculating the position of the Sun and predicting the size and shape of shadows at different times of the day for any place on Earth and for any calendar day.
The size and shape of a shadow on the Earth's surface is greatly affected by the angle at which sunlight hits the object. Since the position of the Sun in the sky changes by duration of the day, the angle and direction from which the rays strike the object also changes. As a result, the shadows cast by objects change in length and shape.
When the Sun is low on the horizon, creates large angles with objects on Earth and this makes their shadows large. The reverse occurs when the Sun is at its highest point above them.
The Shadow Calculator uses Google Maps and a set of Astromathematical calculations to predict and visualize the shadows for you.
Apart from this, Shadow Calculator also provides the following information about the selected location on Google Maps for any particular day:
- Length of day
- Sunrise, noon and sunset time
- Sun Position: Azimuth as well as Altitude
If you are building your house, you can actually use the Shadow Calculator and analyze how much sunlight your house and garden will receive and from which direction, so you can plan openings, orientation, etc. accordingly.
The calculation of shadows and other data it provides is quite accurate. To see what it can do, follow these steps:
- Navigate to the required location in Google Maps (with the little hand) and use the rectangle or polygon tool to draw an area on the map. This will be the area for which shadow prediction will be made. Use the tools in the side panel to rotate and move your area as needed for more precision.
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Specify the height (in meters) for each point of the area so that you can more or less represent the XNUMXD object, such as your house, some tower, etc. You can click on a point of the polygon and change its height in the sidebar.
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The teal polygon represents the area you marked above while the grayish polygon simulates the shadow cast directly on the map.
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Click and drag the Sun from the graphics panel to see how this shadow changes from Sunrise to Sunset.
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See other related data like sunrise/sunset time and sun angle etc. for the selected date and location will be displayed in the sidebar in real time.
A good set of keyboard shortcuts is also available. You can read more about them from the Help button. To save your location and object / shadow data as a CSV file and import it as a layer in Google Maps, use the Import / Export button.
The Shadow Calculator is a practical and accurate tool for home builders and engineers to understand the sun's paths for designing house facades and estimating the cooling and heating needs of the building they are building.
It is also an exciting tool for hobbyists and science geeks alike to gain more information about the sun's shadows and angles on the Earth's surface.
