With the accuracy you mention there is a very simple solution:
Use a horizontal sundial and turn it in such a way that it indicates the
correct time. Then the style is North-South. The sun is in the Southern
part if you are living on the Nothern hemisphere.
Thibaud Chabot
At 09:48 09-09-2002 -0700, you wrote:
Esteemed list...
My wife is a realtor who often wants to determine the direction a house
is facing. Being directionally impaired, and not having a car with a
built-in compass, she is usually at a loss. I had the idea, not
especially original or brilliant, of writing an anti-sundial for her
Palm PDA. My idea is that, given the time and approximate location and
knowing the position of the sun, we should be able to determine which
way is North. I was thinking of a program that would draw a compass rose
and display a marker showing the sun's position. She would then rotate
the Palm until the marker pointed at the sun and, voila, the rose would
be oriented properly. Accuracy of +/- 30 degrees is adequate.
Any reason this won't work?
And, since I'm mathematically lazy, can someone tell me how to do the
calculation?
Thanks.
-
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Th. Taudin Chabot, home email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
-
