Hello All !

I tried to calculate the sunrise time with the formula

cos(T)=-tan(lat)*tan(decl)

I took the datas from the astronomical Almanac, here is an 
example for the 3. of september  1998 at latitude +46

Sun declination : 7 42 13.5  = 7.704 deg
Rise time             : 5h23m
Set time               : 18h35m
Day length          : 13h12m

T=arccos(-tan(46)*tan(7.704))=98.05 deg =6.537 hours

Calculated rise time     : 12-6.537 = 5.463h = 5h27m47s
Calculated set time      : 12+6.537= 18.54h = 18h32m13s
Calculated day length : 6.537*2 = 13.07 h = 13h04m25s

As you see there is a difference between the calculated datas 
and the datas of the nautical almanac, the difference in the day 
length is about 8 minutes (2 degrees!) that's quite a lot.

Why do I have such a difference? 
Did I do some wrong calculation or is this formula only 
approximative?

Thanks

Reto Ambrosini

[EMAIL PROTECTED]




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