Shadow length = height ÷ tan(sun altitude). The day curve is capped at 12× height — near sunrise and sunset shadows stretch toward the horizon. Computed in your browser from the sun's real position.
How it knows
Shadow length—
Shadow : height—
Falls toward—
Sun altitude—
Sun bearing—
Shadow = height at—
Why shadows stretch
Length is height over the tangent of the sun's altitude: equal at 45°, endless as the sun meets the horizon.
Where it points
Opposite the sun — west at dawn, north at noon in the north, east by evening.
The 1 : 1 moments
The stretch of today when the sun stands above 45° and every shadow is shorter than its object.
Sol's shadow stage shows this live — a stone on a stage, the sun on its true arc, the shadow swinging under your finger.
Sol for iPhone · Coming soon