Indiana · United States · 40.56° N · 85.66° W
Solar position in Marion
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Marion — computed for 40.56° N, 85.66° W, 247 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Marion today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 06:32 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 07:03 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 07:35 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 08:03 | 105° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 08:41 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 13:26 | 37.5° high |
| Golden hour starts | 18:11 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:49 | 255° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 19:17 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:49 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 20:20 | 18° below |
| Day length | 10 h 46 min | |
Sun path diagram for Marion
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 72.9° at solar noon in Marion; on the December solstice only 26.0°. Sunrise swings from 58° ENE in June to 121° ESE in December — a 63° 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 | 08:00 | 12:54 | 17:47 | 9 h 46 min | 29.7° |
| February | 07:28 | 12:56 | 18:24 | 10 h 57 min | 39.1° |
| March | 07:44 | 13:49 | 19:55 | 12 h 12 min | 49.9° |
| April | 06:55 | 13:41 | 20:28 | 13 h 33 min | 61.5° |
| May | 06:20 | 13:39 | 20:58 | 14 h 38 min | 69.7° |
| June | 06:12 | 13:44 | 21:16 | 15 h 05 min | 72.9° |
| July | 06:29 | 13:49 | 21:07 | 14 h 38 min | 69.8° |
| August | 06:59 | 13:45 | 20:31 | 13 h 32 min | 61.4° |
| September | 07:29 | 13:35 | 19:41 | 12 h 12 min | 49.9° |
| October | 08:00 | 13:26 | 18:53 | 10 h 53 min | 38.6° |
| November | 07:36 | 12:28 | 17:20 | 9 h 44 min | 29.4° |
| December | 08:02 | 12:40 | 17:18 | 9 h 16 min | 26.0° |
A year of daylight in Marion
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 Marion
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
34°collects the most energy over a year: 1369 kWh per kWp.
66°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° | 1181 | 86% | 1.18 | 4.2× |
| 15° | 1310 | 96% | 1.62 | 3.1× |
| 30° | 1367 | 100% | 1.98 | 2.4× |
| 34° year-round best | 1369 | 100% | 2.06 | 2.3× |
| 41° = latitude | 1360 | 99% | 2.17 | 2.1× |
| 45° | 1348 | 98% | 2.23 | 2.0× |
| 60° | 1254 | 92% | 2.34 | 1.7× |
| 66° off-grid best | 1198 | 87% | 2.35 | 1.6× |
| 70° | 1154 | 84% | 2.35 | 1.6× |
| 90° | 882 | 64% | 2.18 | 1.8× |
A fixed array in Marion produces the most over a year at 34°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 66° it makes 2.35 kWh per kWp a day, 14% more than at 34°, and costs 13% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Marion at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 34° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 34° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January snow | 1.73 | 3.03 | 2.77 | 2.41 | -3.5 °C |
| February snow | 2.59 | 3.82 | 3.48 | 3.24 | -2.1 °C |
| March | 3.61 | 3.84 | 3.42 | 3.83 | 3.7 °C |
| April | 4.77 | 3.89 | 3.36 | 4.34 | 10.4 °C |
| May | 5.51 | 3.62 | 3.05 | 4.44 | 16.3 °C |
| June | 6.20 | 3.61 | 2.98 | 4.67 | 21.2 °C |
| July | 6.23 | 3.76 | 3.08 | 4.75 | 23.2 °C |
| August | 5.54 | 4.09 | 3.38 | 4.62 | 22.5 °C |
| September | 4.48 | 4.42 | 3.71 | 4.35 | 18.9 °C |
| October | 3.05 | 3.95 | 3.41 | 3.51 | 11.7 °C |
| November | 2.05 | 3.39 | 3.01 | 2.78 | 4.8 °C |
| December snow | 1.45 | 2.60 | 2.35 | 2.06 | -0.8 °C |
| Year | 3.94 avg | 3.67 avg | 1154 kWh | 1369 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 500 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 570 Wp at 34°. The steep array is 12% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Marion
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.
5.1 mrow pitch at 70°
4.3 mrow pitch at 34°
How Marion 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.
2084thof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.94 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−10%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,369 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.
−1 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 05 min against 15 h 06 min.
34°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); Marion ranks joint 2084th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.35 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 16 min, +1 min compared with New York City.
Solar forecast for Marion, 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 Marion
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Places near Marion
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A free, live card for Marion: 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.