APOD 3.2

Days in the Sun
2012 January 21

The above image was taken over a six month period at University of Hertfordshire's Bayfordbury Observatory; the camera that captured the movement of the sun was composed of a tin can, photographic paper, and a tiny pinhole. What I found most remarkable was the amount of information that could be deduced from the image. From June to December, as the sun traveled across the sky it would get lower in the sky (thereby drawing lines further down the photographic paper) and trace its summer, winter, and fall routes. Also the brightness of each individual line or "day" tells us the everyday weather, a bright line would indicate a clear, sunny day where as a obscured or dim line would mean the day was cloudy. The most remarkable aspect of this article is that the cameras for solargraphy and the development of the images can all be done cheaply at home!