New York · United States · 42.75° N · 73.76° W
Solar position in Latham
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Latham — computed for 42.75° N, 73.76° W, 108 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Latham today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:44 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:17 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 06:50 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 07:19 | 105° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 07:58 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:38 | 35.4° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:19 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:58 | 254° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:27 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:00 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:33 | 18° below |
| Day length | 10 h 39 min | |
Sun path diagram for Latham
Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.
- June solstice
- Equinox
- December solstice
- Today
On the June solstice the sun reaches 70.7° at solar noon in Latham; on the December solstice only 23.9°. Sunrise swings from 56° ENE in June to 122° ESE in December — a 66° arc along the horizon.
Sunrise, sunset and sun height by month
Values for the 21st of each month, local clock time including daylight saving time.
| Month | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Day length | Noon elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:19 | 12:06 | 16:54 | 9 h 35 min | 27.5° |
| February | 06:43 | 12:08 | 17:34 | 10 h 51 min | 36.9° |
| March | 06:56 | 13:02 | 19:08 | 12 h 12 min | 47.7° |
| April | 06:03 | 12:53 | 19:44 | 13 h 40 min | 59.3° |
| May | 05:26 | 12:51 | 20:17 | 14 h 50 min | 67.5° |
| June | 05:16 | 12:56 | 20:36 | 15 h 20 min | 70.7° |
| July | 05:35 | 13:01 | 20:26 | 14 h 51 min | 67.6° |
| August | 06:08 | 12:57 | 19:47 | 13 h 39 min | 59.2° |
| September | 06:41 | 12:47 | 18:53 | 12 h 13 min | 47.8° |
| October | 07:15 | 12:39 | 18:03 | 10 h 47 min | 36.4° |
| November | 06:54 | 11:40 | 16:27 | 9 h 33 min | 27.3° |
| December | 07:22 | 11:53 | 16:24 | 9 h 02 min | 23.9° |
A year of daylight in Latham
Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.
Best solar panel angle in Latham
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
36°collects the most energy over a year: 1329 kWh per kWp.
72°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.
- Yearly energy
- Worst-month energy
| Tilt | kWh/kWp per year | Share of best year | December kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1121 | 84% | 1.02 | 4.7× |
| 15° | 1257 | 95% | 1.44 | 3.4× |
| 30° | 1323 | 100% | 1.80 | 2.6× |
| 36° year-round best | 1329 | 100% | 1.92 | 2.4× |
| 43° = latitude | 1321 | 99% | 2.03 | 2.2× |
| 45° | 1316 | 99% | 2.06 | 2.1× |
| 60° | 1237 | 93% | 2.21 | 1.8× |
| 70° | 1148 | 86% | 2.25 | 1.7× |
| 72° off-grid best | 1126 | 85% | 2.25 | 1.7× |
| 90° | 895 | 67% | 2.16 | 1.8× |
A fixed array in Latham produces the most over a year at 36°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 72° it makes 2.25 kWh per kWp a day, 17% more than at 36°, and costs 15% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Latham at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 36° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 36° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January snow | 1.59 | 2.96 | 2.74 | 2.37 | -6.8 °C |
| February snow | 2.44 | 3.79 | 3.50 | 3.24 | -5.7 °C |
| March snow | 3.58 | 4.22 | 3.82 | 4.03 | -0.9 °C |
| April | 4.61 | 3.90 | 3.43 | 4.33 | 6.2 °C |
| May | 5.32 | 3.62 | 3.09 | 4.37 | 13.0 °C |
| June | 5.77 | 3.52 | 2.94 | 4.42 | 17.9 °C |
| July | 5.95 | 3.78 | 3.13 | 4.61 | 20.8 °C |
| August | 5.24 | 4.03 | 3.36 | 4.46 | 20.0 °C |
| September | 4.24 | 4.36 | 3.70 | 4.26 | 16.2 °C |
| October | 2.64 | 3.51 | 3.06 | 3.12 | 9.2 °C |
| November | 1.80 | 3.11 | 2.78 | 2.56 | 2.7 °C |
| December snow | 1.26 | 2.48 | 2.25 | 1.92 | -3.1 °C |
| Year | 3.71 avg | 3.60 avg | 1148 kWh | 1329 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through December on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 520 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 620 Wp at 36°. The steep array is 15% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Latham
Distance between rows of 2 m long panels (slope length) so that no row shades the next between 10:00 and 14:00 solar time on the winter solstice.
5.7 mrow pitch at 70°
4.7 mrow pitch at 36°
How Latham compares in the United States
Against the other 3,120 places in the United States with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
2895thof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.71 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−12%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,329 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.
+14 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 20 min against 15 h 06 min.
36°best year-round tilt here; across the United States it runs from 18° in Honolulu to 53° in Fairbanks.
Of the 3,121 places in the United States, Fortuna Foothills and 2 other places get the most sun (5.96 peak sun hours a day) and Juneau the least (2.38); Latham ranks joint 2895th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.25 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 02 min, −13 min compared with New York City.
Solar forecast for Latham, next 48 hours
Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.
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Questions about the sun in Latham
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A free, live card for Latham: where the sun is right now on today's path, a countdown to sunset or sunrise, the daylight change, the moon phase at night and the best panel angle.
Sun positions: NREL Solar Position Algorithm. Climate: NASA POWER monthly climatology (NASA Langley Research Center). Forecast: Deutscher Wetterdienst, ICON-EU (CC BY 4.0), processed. Places: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Time zones: IANA. Sources and licences.