When you're able to observe the sunset every day from the same vantage point and are surrounded with easily identifiable landmarks, as we are, it's fun to watch the point where the sun sets on the horizon. This point changes, of course, with the seasons.
The location of the sun on the horizon, when measured in degrees, is called its azimuth. By convention, azimuth is measured from north towards the east along the horizon.
On January 27, the date this picture was taken, sunset in Seattle, WA occurred at 5:02 PM. The sun's azimuth at sunset was 243 degrees, or 27 degrees south of due west. See timeanddate.com. From our vantage point on Alaskan Way above Bell Harbor Marina, the sun appeared to set directly off Duwamish Head at the northern tip of West Seattle.
By mid-March, the sun will set exactly in the west, with an azimuth of 270 degrees. And by mid-June, the sun's azimuth at sunset (as viewed from Seattle) will be 307 degrees, or 37 degrees north of due west -- again thanks to timeanddate.com.
Pretty simple stuff, but interesting nonetheless.
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