- two locations at different longitudes or two trustworthy observers
- clock or phone time
- simple vertical stick or gnomon
- sunny conditions near local noon
Experiment
Longitude Solar Noon Shift
Does local solar noon shift by roughly four minutes per degree of longitude?
Materials Needed
Setup Steps
- At each location, track when a vertical stick casts its shortest shadow.
- Record the local clock time of that shortest-shadow moment.
- Compare the measured time difference with the longitude difference between the two sites.
Expected Calculation
Earth rotates 360 degrees in about 24 hours, so local solar noon shifts by roughly 15 degrees per hour or about 4 minutes per degree of longitude.
Graphic
This visual shows the core geometry the experiment is testing before the real-world observation is made.
What to Observe
- Two locations east and west of each other do not reach local solar noon at the same clock time.
- The difference scales in the expected direction with longitude separation.
- The shortest-shadow moment is tied to solar geometry rather than to arbitrary map artwork.
Interpretation
That repeatable time shift supports a rotating globe with longitude-based solar timing.
Sources
- NOAA Solar Position Equations: Published solar-position equations behind noon-angle and longitude-time tools on this site.
- U.S. Naval Observatory: Sunrise / Sunset Tables: Primary ephemeris tables for comparing local solar noon timing between longitudes.
- USNO: Solar Noon Data: Official solar-noon timing service used to verify the ~4 minutes per degree of longitude shift.
Evidence Card
Claim
Does local solar noon shift by roughly four minutes per degree of longitude?
Model Used
The experiment’s stated geometry or physical model with fixed inputs across comparisons.
Formula
Last Verified
2026-06-30
Assumptions
- The protocol holds location, height, and distance inputs fixed while comparing observation to prediction.
- A single ambiguous photo is not enough; repeatable measurements matter.
- Primary-source references carry more weight than generic summaries.
What Would Falsify This Page
A repeatable observation that matched the competing model better than this experiment’s stated prediction would count against this page.