Limpopo · South Africa · 23.66° S · 27.62° E
Solar position in Marapong
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Marapong — computed for 23.66° S, 27.62° E, 870 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Marapong today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:10 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:38 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:05 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:29 | 103° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:59 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:53 | 78.2° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:48 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:18 | 257° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:41 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:09 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:37 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 49 min | |
Sun path diagram for Marapong
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 42.9° at solar noon in Marapong; on the December solstice only 89.8°. Sunrise swings from 65° ENE in June to 116° ESE in December — a 51° 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 | 05:40 | 12:20 | 19:01 | 13 h 21 min | 86.2° |
| February | 06:00 | 12:23 | 18:45 | 12 h 45 min | 76.8° |
| March | 06:13 | 12:16 | 18:19 | 12 h 06 min | 66.0° |
| April | 06:25 | 12:08 | 17:50 | 11 h 25 min | 54.4° |
| May | 06:39 | 12:05 | 17:32 | 10 h 54 min | 46.1° |
| June | 06:51 | 12:11 | 17:31 | 10 h 41 min | 42.9° |
| July | 06:49 | 12:16 | 17:42 | 10 h 53 min | 45.9° |
| August | 06:30 | 12:12 | 17:55 | 11 h 24 min | 54.3° |
| September | 06:00 | 12:02 | 18:05 | 12 h 05 min | 65.7° |
| October | 05:31 | 11:54 | 18:17 | 12 h 46 min | 77.1° |
| November | 05:14 | 11:55 | 18:36 | 13 h 21 min | 86.3° |
| December | 05:19 | 12:07 | 18:55 | 13 h 36 min | 89.8° |
A year of daylight in Marapong
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 Marapong
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
26°collects the most energy over a year: 1839 kWh per kWp.
23°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° | 1677 | 91% | 5.32 | 1.6× |
| 15° | 1811 | 98% | 5.03 | 1.2× |
| 23° off-grid best | 1837 | 100% | 4.76 | 1.2× |
| 24° = latitude | 1838 | 100% | 4.72 | 1.2× |
| 26° year-round best | 1839 | 100% | 4.64 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 1834 | 100% | 4.46 | 1.2× |
| 45° | 1748 | 95% | 3.66 | 1.6× |
| 60° | 1558 | 85% | 2.70 | 2.1× |
| 70° | 1383 | 75% | 2.03 | 2.7× |
| 90° | 966 | 53% | 1.10 | 4.3× |
A fixed array in Marapong produces the most over a year at 26°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 23° it makes 4.76 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 26°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Marapong at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 26° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 26° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.86 | 2.72 | 2.18 | 4.84 | 26.3 °C |
| February | 6.46 | 3.41 | 2.77 | 4.93 | 26.1 °C |
| March | 5.84 | 4.22 | 3.46 | 4.92 | 24.6 °C |
| April | 4.97 | 4.96 | 4.12 | 4.77 | 21.8 °C |
| May | 4.63 | 6.14 | 5.16 | 5.11 | 18.5 °C |
| June | 4.17 | 6.26 | 5.33 | 4.94 | 15.3 °C |
| July | 4.46 | 6.38 | 5.45 | 5.17 | 14.8 °C |
| August | 5.23 | 6.08 | 5.12 | 5.46 | 18.1 °C |
| September | 6.11 | 5.15 | 4.28 | 5.53 | 22.0 °C |
| October | 6.61 | 3.86 | 3.15 | 5.25 | 24.9 °C |
| November | 6.76 | 2.87 | 2.32 | 4.88 | 25.7 °C |
| December | 6.69 | 2.53 | 2.03 | 4.64 | 26.3 °C |
| Year | 5.73 avg | 4.55 avg | 1383 kWh | 1839 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 580 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 250 Wp at 26°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Marapong
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.
2.9 mrow pitch at 70°
2.9 mrow pitch at 26°
How Marapong compares in South Africa
Against the other 294 places in South Africa with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
47thof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine: 5.73 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+2%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,839 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.
−11 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 13 h 36 min against 13 h 47 min.
26°best year-round tilt here; across South Africa it runs from 24° in Thohoyandou to 32° in East London.
Of the 295 places in South Africa, Upington gets the most sun (6.28 peak sun hours a day) and Port Shepstone the least (4.46); Marapong ranks 47th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.03 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 41 min, +11 min compared with Johannesburg.
Solar forecast for Marapong, 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 Marapong
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Places near Marapong
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A free, live card for Marapong: 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.