On holiday I did try very hard not to think too much about navigation, but wherever I am I cannot resist checking that the sun is behaving itself appropriately considering my latitude and the season. At 7 degrees north, Phuket is in the northern hemisphere and the tropics and because the sun is now well south of the equator the short midday shadow is cast towards the north. Nearer June this same pencil would cast a shadow in the opposite direction at midday, to the south.
This photo was actually taken eleven minutes after local midday, which is logical since it was taken in the west of Phuket and Phuket itself is in the west of the country, about 2 degrees west of Bangkok. The sun will be at its highest point over Phuket about eight minutes after it has reached its highest point when viewed from Bangkok.
Tags: compass, midday, phuket, shadows, sun, thailand, tropics
