Shadow Calculator – How Long Is a Shadow Right Now?

See the shadow of a person, house, tree or tower anywhere in the world on the map – its length and direction for any time of day and year.

The shadow in New York

Pick a time, a date and an object – the shadow moves live on the map.
Person, 1.8 m: 2.8 m
House, 10 m: 16 m
Tree, 20 m: 31 m
Tower, 100 m: 156 m
Eiffel Tower, 330 m: 516 m

How the shadow of a house changes over the day

Shadow length through the day – shortest at solar noon (16 m on the selected day).
07:00: 160 m · west-northwest
08:00: 42 m · northwest
09:00: 25 m · northwest
10:00: 19 m · north-northwest
11:00: 16 m · north
12:00: 16 m · north
13:00: 18 m · north-northeast
14:00: 22 m · northeast
15:00: 35 m · northeast
16:00: 84 m · east-northeast

The shortest shadow of the day in New York, month by month

Noon shadow of a 10 m house on the 15th of each month, with the highest sun of the day below.
January: 19 m · 28°
February: 13 m · 37°
March: 9.2 m · 47°
April: 6 m · 59°
May: 4 m · 68°
June: 3.1 m · 73°
July: 3.5 m · 71°
August: 5.1 m · 63°
September: 7.8 m · 52°
October: 12 m · 41°
November: 17 m · 31°
December: 21 m · 26°

The highest sun today in 12 cities

When the sun stands highest today, how high – and how long the shadow of a 1 m stick is then.
New York: Highest 11:39 · Sun's height 33° · Shadow (1 m) 1.56 m
Los Angeles: Highest 11:36 · Sun's height 39° · Shadow (1 m) 1.23 m
Chicago: Highest 11:34 · Sun's height 31° · Shadow (1 m) 1.64 m
Houston: Highest 12:05 · Sun's height 44° · Shadow (1 m) 1.05 m
Miami: Highest 12:04 · Sun's height 48° · Shadow (1 m) 0.92 m
Seattle: Highest 11:53 · Sun's height 26° · Shadow (1 m) 2.08 m
Denver: Highest 11:43 · Sun's height 34° · Shadow (1 m) 1.51 m
Boston: Highest 11:27 · Sun's height 31° · Shadow (1 m) 1.67 m
Toronto: Highest 12:01 · Sun's height 30° · Shadow (1 m) 1.76 m
London: Highest 11:44 · Sun's height 22° · Shadow (1 m) 2.49 m
Manchester: Highest 11:52 · Sun's height 20° · Shadow (1 m) 2.77 m
Edinburgh: Highest 11:56 · Sun's height 17° · Shadow (1 m) 3.19 m

Click or tap the map to move the object to any spot.

The dotted path is where the shadow's tip travels over the day – like a sundial.

The formula: shadow length = object height ÷ tan(sun altitude). At 45° the shadow is as long as the object is tall; at 10° it is almost six times as long.

How do you calculate the length of a shadow? Divide the height of the object by the tangent of the sun's altitude. The lower the sun, the longer the shadow – at sunrise and sunset shadows become extremely long.

When is the shadow shortest? Every day at solar noon, when the sun is highest – and over the year at the summer solstice. In winter the midday shadow is many times longer.

Which way does the shadow point? Always exactly away from the sun. In the northern hemisphere the midday shadow points north, in the southern hemisphere south.

How does the shadow calculator work?

For the chosen place, date and time the calculator finds the exact position of the sun – its height above the horizon and its compass direction. From that it draws the shadow of the chosen object on the map: it always points away from the sun and grows longer the lower the sun stands.

What can you use this for?

Garden and balcony: see when a spot lies in the shade of the house or a tree

Solar panels and building: check which shadows fall on a roof or a plot

Learning: see how the sun's path changes from summer to winter