Sun Path Diagram Generator

Pick a US city or type any latitude and get an accurate stereographic sun path diagram — the summer and winter solstice arcs, the equinox, the hourly positions and the sunrise and sunset bearings. Download it as SVG or PNG for your site analysis, presentation board or daylighting study.
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How to Read a Sun Path Diagram

The circle is the sky, seen from above. North is up, the compass runs around the rim, and altitude reads from 0° at the edge (horizon) to 90° at the center (straight overhead). A point near the center is a high, midday sun; a point near the rim is low, near sunrise or sunset.

The curved lines are dates. The outer orange arc is the summer solstice — the sun rising north of east, climbing highest, setting north of west across a long day. The inner blue arc is the winter solstice — a short, low path hugging the south. The pale line between them is the equinox, when the sun rises due east and sets due west everywhere on Earth.

The radial lines are hours in solar time, so you can read the sun's exact bearing and height at, say, 9am in December — the single most useful question when you are placing a window, sizing an overhang or checking whether the neighbor's roof will shade your panels.

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Designing With the Sun

Overhangs that work both seasons. Because the summer sun is high and the winter sun is low, a correctly sized south overhang shades the glass in July and lets warmth in come December. The diagram gives you the two altitudes the geometry depends on.

Orientation and outdoor rooms. Read where the sun rises and sets across the year to place a breakfast terrace in the morning light, hold afternoon glare off a west façade, or keep a courtyard usable in the shoulder seasons.

Daylight, glare and panels. Combine the path with the surrounding massing — from your site analysis — to predict shadows on neighbors, aim clerestory light, and confirm a photovoltaic array clears winter obstructions when the sun is lowest.

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Frequently Asked Questions

‍What is a sun path diagram?
A map of where the sun sits over a place across the day and year. This polar version looks down on the sky dome: compass around the circle, altitude from horizon (edge) to overhead (center), curved lines for key dates, radial lines for hours.

‍How do architects use it?
Orientation, overhang and shading design, glazing and outdoor-room placement, daylighting, shadow studies and solar panels. The summer-versus-winter altitude difference is what makes seasonal shading possible.

‍Why does it change with latitude?
Noon sun altitude = 90° − latitude + declination. Closer to the equator the sun rides higher and paths flatten overhead; toward the poles it stays low and paths compress to the horizon.

‍How accurate is it?
Standard solar-geometry equations, good to a fraction of a degree for design. Positions are in solar time — adjust for longitude, the equation of time and daylight saving to reach clock time.

‍Solar time vs. clock time?
Solar noon is when the sun crosses due south, which rarely equals 12:00. The offset comes from your spot in the time zone, the equation of time (±~16 min) and DST. Plotting solar time keeps the geometry exact.