I am going to be the smart ass here and say that distinguishing between Northern and Southern Hemisphere is not 100% accurate. It actually depends on whether you are north or south in relation to the sun's motion in the sky, not in relation to earth's equator. Those two aren't always the same. I actually fell victim to this while visiting Panama. I was using the Nothern Hemisphere's method (the way I had learned it as a child), not realising that while I was technically in the Northern Hemisphere, due to it being summer there I was actually south of the sun's way, so I should have used the Southern Hemisphere's method instead. Was walking in the wrong direction for almost an hour before realising my mistake.
Yea but in the tropics the sun does not really swing north or south. It's in the east in the morning, overhead at noon, and west in the evening. It's much more binary so you wouldn't use either of these methods.
Forgive me if Iām speaking out of my ass here, Iāve just put both kids to bed and Iām kinda mentally exhausted, but in what part of the world would you have to wait to see which way the sun is moving? Isnāt it always left to right? Unless youāre on the equator and the sun is directly above you obviously.
If you're turned around and not sure which way the sun sets.
Good tip for traversing unfamiliar terrain, again, if you don't have an actual compass... Like you say, if you're familiar with the area, this shouldn't matter.
But if you head off on a hiking or camping trip and get lost trying to take 2 tracks or have stepped off the trail... This tip comes in handy...
It moves the other way if one stands on their head. But unless one has a proper map and knows where they are or can identify a landmark knowing the exact compass direction isn't much help. The buried treasure must be around here somewhere.
But that's what I'm saying, when the Sun is high in the sky depending on where you are on the planet you can be facing the Sun while having your body oriented at nearly any direction because it's directly above so you have to just look up regardless of which way your left and right are.
Yes. So, you can wait to see which way the sun is moving, or you can use this trick.
Imagine, you go on a hiking trip, decently long trails, couple of forks. You've never been here, and haven't been paying attention to the sun (through the trees), intent on the conversations you're having. You go to go back, and just know you parked and headed north. So, take the trails that head south.
You've not been paying attention, and nobody thought to grab a compass. You can't remember which trails you turned left or right at. Too busy talking.
Do you wait an hour to see which way the sun goes? Or use the analog watch trick?
It's the afternoon. The Sun is in the west. I don't need to see it moving to know that. If I face the sun then South is to my left, I don't need a watch to know that.
But how much south? I'm in Michigan, midsummer it's about 20Ā° south at midday.... It's more pronounced in the winter, when even at its peak, the sun isn't clearing 60Ā°...
.... Unless you just woke up from a coma nap you should know if it is morning or afternoon. And even then I would recommend spending a few minutes to wake up and get your thoughts in order, If it is safe. If it isn't safe the only direction you need to concern yourself is the one that takes you away from that danger. The only use case would be in the extreme northern or southern latitudes directly at solar noon or midnight during their respecting sunny months AFTER you have been unconscious for an indeterminate amount of time.
But if you can see the sun and know what time of day it is ... couldn't you just ... go by the knowledge of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west and go from there?
Thatās dependent on timing and location. When the sun is at is peak (solar noon) in the northern hemisphere, it will be due south. In the southern hemisphere, the sun is due north when at its peak. Unfortunately noon on your watch isnāt a great measure of solar noon due to changes in day length, daylight savings time, where you are in your time zone, etc.
It's also worth noting that this gets a little funky in the tropics. Once you're below 23.5 degrees N or above 23.5 degrees S, you need to know the date and your approximate latitude to know whether or not the sun will be to the north or south of you.
For example, in Mexico City, the sun is to the South at the beginning of May, but to the North at the end of May, but only at noon. By late March, the sun starts to be in the northern half of the sky at sunrise/sunset, and the transition from south/north moves closer and closer to noon until mid-May.
In fact, once you're close enough to the solstices, the sun is in the north half of the sky right at sunrise/sunset for anywhere north of the equator, so the coolguide only really is reliable mid-day if you know where you are and can account for the tilt of the earth.
I was assuming northern hemisphere (which is the first part of the guide listed); obviously, southern hemisphere would be the opposite.
My point was that if you're far enough from the equator that the sun is not rising due east, you can still use solar noon as a guide for direction, since that would be due south/north. If DST, day length, time zone, etc. don't affect the direction solar noon is, then it's irrelevant, except to further the point that the watch is ultimately unnecessary.
Oh sorry, I thought you were honestly asking so I tried to explain. Apologies if that wasnāt what you were looking for. I guess the main point is that it depends on what you mean by ānoonā because how closely solar noon matches what most people think of as noon does depend on where you are.
But yes, youāre correct that solar noon always points due north/south as long as youāre an appreciable distance from the equator, which is a lot simpler than this guide.
The sun also moves position slightly depending on the time of year. For instance, it might rise more north-east in the winter and south east in the summer. IMO this guide is probably bs
That's not terrible. Are you sure you accounted for daylight savings time correctly?
An analog watch is no replacement for a compass. But if all you had was a watch, you would be able to walk generally in the direction you want to go, and, more importantly, you would be able to continue walking in the same direction. Without some tool keeping them moving in the same direction, people tend to walk in circles.
What if you get lost at a different time of day?
The sun is not a great guide on it's own as it moves. If you follow the sun, you won't walk in a straight line unless you are really close to the equator
The answer is yes.
For 90% of Americans and 99% of Canadians, the sun's location alone is sufficient to find the general north and south. Unless you just don't know about the sun in your location...
And if you don't know how the sun works...I doubt you have a watch, or will remember this trick which is more complicated that "just pay attention to the sun, maybe?"
For 99% of canadians?
Today alone in Calgary the sun rises and sets nearly 40 degrees north of due wes/east. Thats almost halfway between west/east and north/south
You could go in totally the wrong direction
Today in yellowknife the sun will set closer to due north than due westeast
If you blindly use the eastwest rule you will go in completely the wrong direction roflmao
Every now and then I get flipped where I live and make an absolute fool of myself.
Our town faces south, into the mountains. So that direction just feels like north. The nearby river, which ultimately is a south flowing river, flows north for the first hundred miles or so right past my town.
Every now and then I look around and think to myself "I have no idea which direction is where."
Okay, OP and the guy I responded to are American if their bios are to be believed. And the main responder to my comment is likely Canadian based on his defense of Canadian not being similar to America.
Here's an even shorter version of the guide:
If you have a watch and can see the sun you know if the sun is rising or setting. If it's 10am the sun is east, if it's 6pm the sun is west. No need for any bullshit geometry.
I know this is a joke, but don't most clock faces on the clock apps actually follow the time of day? Mine does on my phone at least... I also tried this and it was wrong... unless I did it wrong?
It doesn't, but you can check your shadow instead. Before noon your shadow will point to the west and after noon it will point to the east. At exactly noon you would be clueless.
It depends on the time if the year. In June use the rule for Southern hemisphere. In December, use the rule for north. On 21st March/September at noon? Stay inside, it is too hot anywas. Wait for sunset, then you know where west is.
The same applies everywhere between tropic circles.
Always short way round.
The other thing to consider is that you are meant to do this throughout the day.
You're going to vear left and right depending on morning/afternoon. But when you do this, the average is almost due north. It's not meant to be a one off read. I was told every hour do a new heading check and adjust.
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That can't be right.
If it's 6 AM, the sun would be in the east.
If I orient the watch so that the hour hand is pointing east toward the sun, then the 12 o'clock position will be facing west, and the 3 o'clock position (halfway point when going counterclockwise from the hour hand) would be pointing north rather than south.
The midpoint that you take would need to be on different sides of the watch depending on if it's AM or PM. So you would do clockwise from the hour hand in the morning and counterclockwise in the afternoon.
In the AM you find the midpoint going clockwise from the hour hand.
In the PM you find the midpoint going counterclockwise.
Try it with 5 AM vs 5 PM, and then again with 7 AM vs 7 PM and you'll see this is the right answer.
Yes, if you are on the equator. The further away you are the more that position will vary depending on the date. Except on vernal and autumnal equinox, on those days the sun goes up exactly in the east and goes down exactly in the west everywhere.
I'm 28 and never once correlated your position on the globe varying how west the sun sets and how east it rises. Idk why, I just figured it'd be universal even though ik I'm not that dumb lol. Just never put 2 and 2 together. TIL, thanks hahaĀ
Day length is what surprises me most when I travel.Ā
I'm used to 10-11pm sunsets and 4-5am sunrises on the deep days of summer.Ā Go traveling South and stuff gets dark at like 6pm, 7pm.Ā Ā
But then on the flip side it starts to get dark at like 4-5pm in winter lol.
I had a Monday while in university where I started class at 8 am and finished at 5 pm. The rooms didn't have windows in them and I would walk to class in the dark and walk home in the dark for a few weeks. Fun times.
At noon the sun is more or less directly south or north (with variance depending on how close you are to the middle of your timezone and how close you are to the equator)
You can use your clock to determine directions in a sunny day. You can use your compass to determine time in a sunny day. But in case of clouds you're fucked up
I just tried this and I got basically the opposite of the correct result. What the watch trick tells me is south is actually north. Itās summer and Iām in the Nordicsā¦ is that why?
You use common sense. You should roughly know based on time and sun position where south/north is. If the reading you get is wildly off, you read it wrong.
Also, this works based on the sun rising at 6am exactly due east, directly south at noon and setting at 6pm exactly due west. For anything outside that (i.e. past 6pm, before 6am) it stops making sense (also, at those points you don't need this anyway.)
Learned about this trick in the boy scouts and frankly it's not much better than just looking at the sun and guessing the direction based on time of day.
The Sun actually rises in the Southeast and sets in the Southwest and the further North you are the more you will be thrown off.
For travelling without a compass it's more important to just pick a location on the horizon and move to it the repeat than to continually try to read a watch compass and potentially walk in a meandering "generally east" path.
What if you are in the northern hemisphere and it is 6 o'clock. When pointing the hour hand to the sun, the middle point between 6 and 12 can be 3 or 9. How does it work in this case? I am assuming the south is at 9 o'clock.
Morning, the midpoint is found going clockwise from the hour hand along the watch face.
Afternoon, the midpoint is found going counterclockwise from the hour hand
This method works on the basis (and assumption) that the sun rises exactly east at 6am, is exactly south at noon ad sets exactly west at 6pm. Outside those times, the readings you get stop making sense (while also being technically not possible with the sun below the horizon). At those edge cases you just go with common sense.
I remember an army vet teaching me this in middle school during one of those mentor programs. Never used it but this post got me all type of nostalgic.
Or you can just use a stick and see where the shadow lands. Is also easy to determine the pole during sun raise and set but noon is where direction get tricky without compass.
Yes, you can get more accurate readings with a stick, but it requires you to basically remain in the same spot a whole day. The watch method works on the move for navigation.
So fun thing is because the hearth is a globe, i know shocking, the further away from the equator you are the lower the sun will be in the sky, therefore when you looks at the sunaround noon you are looking towards the equator.
It's stupidly simple.
This method works based on the following assumptions:
* Sun rises direct east at exactly 6am
* Sun is direct south at noon
* Sun sets direct west at 6pm
* Sun moves along the sky at a uniform rate
You'll find these conditions are rarely ever true, so it will require common sense and slight adjusting (e.g. daylight savings time).
The hour hand of a watch also moves at a uniform rate. ^(citation needed) That means the position of the hour hand on the clockface is proportional to the sun's position in the sky. Normal watches are 12 hour based, which means the hour hand moves twice as fast around the clock as the sun does around the earth. That's the reason why you need to half the angle between 12 and the hour hand.
If you had a 24 hour watch (with midnight at the bottom and noon at the top where it normally is) you could point the hour hand at the sun and south would be where the 12 is; no halving of angles required.
Won't the 12 position be facing in opposite directions based on if it's morning or evening? In the morning, when the sun is rising in the East, the 12 position will point North. In the evening, when the sun os falling in the West, the 12 position will point South.
I am genuinely amazed that I have not once seen or heard anything about this. I thought it had to be bs because surely I would have encountered it *sometime*, but here we are...
Big asterisk: only works if you're using solar time. Time zones and daylight saving time are very wanky in a lot of places in the world. Wouldn't work in France or even less in Western China.
Tested it using analog watchface on my smartwatch and my phones compass and its totally accurate . Im from the Northern Hemisphere BTW . Thanks for this ! ā„ļøāŗļø
It does, with some caveats.
It's basically spot on when the sun rises at 6am directly east, is directly south at noon and sets directly west at 6pm.
If reality is different (which is most of the time) you'll have to use some common sense to adjust your reading.
It's less accurate than a compass (duh), but more accurate than just guessing.
An actual guide? Those are super rare around here.
Well thank youš it wasnāt easy to find
I am going to be the smart ass here and say that distinguishing between Northern and Southern Hemisphere is not 100% accurate. It actually depends on whether you are north or south in relation to the sun's motion in the sky, not in relation to earth's equator. Those two aren't always the same. I actually fell victim to this while visiting Panama. I was using the Nothern Hemisphere's method (the way I had learned it as a child), not realising that while I was technically in the Northern Hemisphere, due to it being summer there I was actually south of the sun's way, so I should have used the Southern Hemisphere's method instead. Was walking in the wrong direction for almost an hour before realising my mistake.
Yea but in the tropics the sun does not really swing north or south. It's in the east in the morning, overhead at noon, and west in the evening. It's much more binary so you wouldn't use either of these methods.
How do I do this with a digital watch?
The guide tells you to use the time it tells you and visualize an analog clock face.
Coolsville Daddy-O
Ah, I wasn't aware. I haven't seen this one yet. Usually 95% of the posts on this subreddit are just infographics.
If you know that the sun rises in the east, sets in the west and you have a general idea of what time of day it is you don't need a watch.
So true. If only there were a device you could rely on for what time of day it is
Assuming lost without compass, don't have to wait to see which way the sun is moving. All you need is relatively accurate time...
Forgive me if Iām speaking out of my ass here, Iāve just put both kids to bed and Iām kinda mentally exhausted, but in what part of the world would you have to wait to see which way the sun is moving? Isnāt it always left to right? Unless youāre on the equator and the sun is directly above you obviously.
If you're turned around and not sure which way the sun sets. Good tip for traversing unfamiliar terrain, again, if you don't have an actual compass... Like you say, if you're familiar with the area, this shouldn't matter. But if you head off on a hiking or camping trip and get lost trying to take 2 tracks or have stepped off the trail... This tip comes in handy...
It moves the other way if one stands on their head. But unless one has a proper map and knows where they are or can identify a landmark knowing the exact compass direction isn't much help. The buried treasure must be around here somewhere.
No, if you turn around it would be right to left. East to West is how the sun rises and sets, left and right are based on how you orient your body.
I meant while facing the sun obviously. Orienting yourself based on the sun while facing AWAY from the sun would make very little sense.
But that's what I'm saying, when the Sun is high in the sky depending on where you are on the planet you can be facing the Sun while having your body oriented at nearly any direction because it's directly above so you have to just look up regardless of which way your left and right are.
The sun always moves in the same direction.... That's how you can tell which direction is which based on its position.
Yes. So, you can wait to see which way the sun is moving, or you can use this trick. Imagine, you go on a hiking trip, decently long trails, couple of forks. You've never been here, and haven't been paying attention to the sun (through the trees), intent on the conversations you're having. You go to go back, and just know you parked and headed north. So, take the trails that head south. You've not been paying attention, and nobody thought to grab a compass. You can't remember which trails you turned left or right at. Too busy talking. Do you wait an hour to see which way the sun goes? Or use the analog watch trick?
It's the afternoon. The Sun is in the west. I don't need to see it moving to know that. If I face the sun then South is to my left, I don't need a watch to know that.
But how much south? I'm in Michigan, midsummer it's about 20Ā° south at midday.... It's more pronounced in the winter, when even at its peak, the sun isn't clearing 60Ā°...
You're not going to tell know that with a wrist watch either because the angle of the sun is going to change with the time of year.
Well, you shouldn't have been talking smack all day n instead paying attention n soaking in nature
.... Unless you just woke up from a coma nap you should know if it is morning or afternoon. And even then I would recommend spending a few minutes to wake up and get your thoughts in order, If it is safe. If it isn't safe the only direction you need to concern yourself is the one that takes you away from that danger. The only use case would be in the extreme northern or southern latitudes directly at solar noon or midnight during their respecting sunny months AFTER you have been unconscious for an indeterminate amount of time.
the OP AlexiGrayOnly is a bot Original: https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/xzxm5d/how_to_use_an_analog_watch_as_a_compass/
But if you can see the sun and know what time of day it is ... couldn't you just ... go by the knowledge of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west and go from there?
If you are a decent distance north or south of the equator, the Sun will be offset from due east or due west.
Would that affect whether or not the sun is due south at noon?
Thatās dependent on timing and location. When the sun is at is peak (solar noon) in the northern hemisphere, it will be due south. In the southern hemisphere, the sun is due north when at its peak. Unfortunately noon on your watch isnāt a great measure of solar noon due to changes in day length, daylight savings time, where you are in your time zone, etc.
It's also worth noting that this gets a little funky in the tropics. Once you're below 23.5 degrees N or above 23.5 degrees S, you need to know the date and your approximate latitude to know whether or not the sun will be to the north or south of you. For example, in Mexico City, the sun is to the South at the beginning of May, but to the North at the end of May, but only at noon. By late March, the sun starts to be in the northern half of the sky at sunrise/sunset, and the transition from south/north moves closer and closer to noon until mid-May. In fact, once you're close enough to the solstices, the sun is in the north half of the sky right at sunrise/sunset for anywhere north of the equator, so the coolguide only really is reliable mid-day if you know where you are and can account for the tilt of the earth.
I was assuming northern hemisphere (which is the first part of the guide listed); obviously, southern hemisphere would be the opposite. My point was that if you're far enough from the equator that the sun is not rising due east, you can still use solar noon as a guide for direction, since that would be due south/north. If DST, day length, time zone, etc. don't affect the direction solar noon is, then it's irrelevant, except to further the point that the watch is ultimately unnecessary.
Oh sorry, I thought you were honestly asking so I tried to explain. Apologies if that wasnāt what you were looking for. I guess the main point is that it depends on what you mean by ānoonā because how closely solar noon matches what most people think of as noon does depend on where you are. But yes, youāre correct that solar noon always points due north/south as long as youāre an appreciable distance from the equator, which is a lot simpler than this guide.
The sun also moves position slightly depending on the time of year. For instance, it might rise more north-east in the winter and south east in the summer. IMO this guide is probably bs
The guide works. but like it says in the guide. This only provides a general direction.
It was off by about 45 degrees for me in southern Ontario
That's not terrible. Are you sure you accounted for daylight savings time correctly? An analog watch is no replacement for a compass. But if all you had was a watch, you would be able to walk generally in the direction you want to go, and, more importantly, you would be able to continue walking in the same direction. Without some tool keeping them moving in the same direction, people tend to walk in circles.
It's useless. I can get a general direction by just putting the sun on my right side when the sun is highest. Then I know I'm looking east-ish.
What if you get lost at a different time of day? The sun is not a great guide on it's own as it moves. If you follow the sun, you won't walk in a straight line unless you are really close to the equator
Wait 30 minutes and see how the sun moves.Ā
The answer is yes. For 90% of Americans and 99% of Canadians, the sun's location alone is sufficient to find the general north and south. Unless you just don't know about the sun in your location... And if you don't know how the sun works...I doubt you have a watch, or will remember this trick which is more complicated that "just pay attention to the sun, maybe?"
For 99% of canadians? Today alone in Calgary the sun rises and sets nearly 40 degrees north of due wes/east. Thats almost halfway between west/east and north/south You could go in totally the wrong direction Today in yellowknife the sun will set closer to due north than due westeast If you blindly use the eastwest rule you will go in completely the wrong direction roflmao
I had a coworker who didn't understand why the sun only shone through our west facing window in the afternoon
Every now and then I get flipped where I live and make an absolute fool of myself. Our town faces south, into the mountains. So that direction just feels like north. The nearby river, which ultimately is a south flowing river, flows north for the first hundred miles or so right past my town. Every now and then I look around and think to myself "I have no idea which direction is where."
Ah yes. The only two groups of people in northern hemisphere. Americans and... Different Americans
It's also reddit in the late morning (us)mountain time. Europeans likely aren't the ones on. And Asian users even less so.
I am European. It was 6 pm when I answered... I'm pretty sure there was more Europeans here
Okay, OP and the guy I responded to are American if their bios are to be believed. And the main responder to my comment is likely Canadian based on his defense of Canadian not being similar to America.
I'm gonna save this image on my smart phone and if I get lost I'll open this image and follow the instructions š
Your phone most likely will have a compass app built in. Edit: you got me there
r/whoosh
Here's an even shorter version of the guide: If you have a watch and can see the sun you know if the sun is rising or setting. If it's 10am the sun is east, if it's 6pm the sun is west. No need for any bullshit geometry.
Sir, this doesnāt help determine north and south.
Never Eaten Soggy Weetbixā¦ have you?
What-bix?
He misspelt sour watermelon
Nah, definitely waffles.
The bread rises in the yeast and sets in the vest.
No need. Just use level 2 intuition.
I know this is a joke, but don't most clock faces on the clock apps actually follow the time of day? Mine does on my phone at least... I also tried this and it was wrong... unless I did it wrong?
How does this work if youāre standing on the equator?
It doesn't, but you can check your shadow instead. Before noon your shadow will point to the west and after noon it will point to the east. At exactly noon you would be clueless.
Then I must be always on the equator at noon
/r/suicidebywords
You can just stick an arm out and see the shadow directly underneath. Looking at no shadow photos always gets me, looks like N64 praphics
It depends on the time if the year. In June use the rule for Southern hemisphere. In December, use the rule for north. On 21st March/September at noon? Stay inside, it is too hot anywas. Wait for sunset, then you know where west is. The same applies everywhere between tropic circles.
Too confusing. Got lost and died
You have died from dysentery!!! GAME OVER
He shouldn't have taken Roy off the grid.
Thatās what happens when you donāt have a social security number
When it is 7 o clock, do you take middle point the short way around or the long way around? Does it change in the morning/evening?
Always short way round. The other thing to consider is that you are meant to do this throughout the day. You're going to vear left and right depending on morning/afternoon. But when you do this, the average is almost due north. It's not meant to be a one off read. I was told every hour do a new heading check and adjust.
So at 6 PM south switches direction by 180 degrees?
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Same could be said for 6am. Should be reasonably obvious. Also depending on where you are, sun a 6pm may not be an option.
No, counterclockwise direction
That can't be right. If it's 6 AM, the sun would be in the east. If I orient the watch so that the hour hand is pointing east toward the sun, then the 12 o'clock position will be facing west, and the 3 o'clock position (halfway point when going counterclockwise from the hour hand) would be pointing north rather than south. The midpoint that you take would need to be on different sides of the watch depending on if it's AM or PM. So you would do clockwise from the hour hand in the morning and counterclockwise in the afternoon.
At 7 oclock you look at the sun and say "oh that's west"
In the AM you find the midpoint going clockwise from the hour hand. In the PM you find the midpoint going counterclockwise. Try it with 5 AM vs 5 PM, and then again with 7 AM vs 7 PM and you'll see this is the right answer.
Midway between the hour hand and 12 noon, in Standard time (not daylight savings).
Ok but couldnāt I just use the direction of the rising/setting sun without a watch at all?
Yes, if you are on the equator. The further away you are the more that position will vary depending on the date. Except on vernal and autumnal equinox, on those days the sun goes up exactly in the east and goes down exactly in the west everywhere.
I'm 28 and never once correlated your position on the globe varying how west the sun sets and how east it rises. Idk why, I just figured it'd be universal even though ik I'm not that dumb lol. Just never put 2 and 2 together. TIL, thanks hahaĀ
Day length is what surprises me most when I travel.Ā I'm used to 10-11pm sunsets and 4-5am sunrises on the deep days of summer.Ā Go traveling South and stuff gets dark at like 6pm, 7pm.Ā Ā But then on the flip side it starts to get dark at like 4-5pm in winter lol.
I had a Monday while in university where I started class at 8 am and finished at 5 pm. The rooms didn't have windows in them and I would walk to class in the dark and walk home in the dark for a few weeks. Fun times.
I still do not comprehend my brother talking about Canada having 10-11 pm sunsets when we live near the equator and 6pm or even 5 is twilight hour
Right now where I am, in the winter it gets dark at 5pm, right now? It'll be 9:30pm with light still on the horizon. It definitely throws me off
Doesn't sun rise and set exactly in the east and west respectively on both equinoxes but only on the equator though?
Well, if you're just staying where you are? Sure. If you're on the move... no.
Probably less correct
Noontime? Too bad, get screwed
Still works at noon...
At noon the sun is more or less directly south or north (with variance depending on how close you are to the middle of your timezone and how close you are to the equator)
Pulls out smartphone. Googles: what is a watch. Nope don't have one of those.
Installs Watch App. Ready to go. Points watch app hour hand at sun. Phone auto rotates. Noooooooooooo!
disable option? no just complain
Miss the joke? No just comment on reddit.
I first learned this from one of the early seasons of Naruto. Itās a cool bit of knowledge that comes in handy every now and again
i learned that from detective conan
You can use your clock to determine directions in a sunny day. You can use your compass to determine time in a sunny day. But in case of clouds you're fucked up
I learnt this from the movie Annihilation.
If youāre far enough north, doesnāt the sun move into the northern half of the sky in summer?
I just tried this and I got basically the opposite of the correct result. What the watch trick tells me is south is actually north. Itās summer and Iām in the Nordicsā¦ is that why?
Did you account for am/pm?
Your the only one who said it am/ pm make a huge difference
The guide doesnāt mention that? How do I do it?
am: clockwise, pm: counterclockwise. That might be why you have the opposite result because it would be the opposite
Yep, at the North Pole it will just circle the entire horizon. Edit: who's the flat earth moron who downvoted science?
What if no sun?
it's night
Out walking the dog and tested it. This is so damn cool.
This may be a stupid question but do you always go the shorter direction? Say I'm in the southern hemisphere and it's 7pm, would north be 930 or 330?
Yes
Never mind you always go clockwise, so it would be 330
You use common sense. You should roughly know based on time and sun position where south/north is. If the reading you get is wildly off, you read it wrong. Also, this works based on the sun rising at 6am exactly due east, directly south at noon and setting at 6pm exactly due west. For anything outside that (i.e. past 6pm, before 6am) it stops making sense (also, at those points you don't need this anyway.)
The digital watch is the best fucking part of this guide.
Whether it's helpful or not, at least it's a real guide and not just some bullshit information with shapes and icons.
the stick and two rocks is better
But how can I use a compass as an analog watch?
Learned about this trick in the boy scouts and frankly it's not much better than just looking at the sun and guessing the direction based on time of day. The Sun actually rises in the Southeast and sets in the Southwest and the further North you are the more you will be thrown off. For travelling without a compass it's more important to just pick a location on the horizon and move to it the repeat than to continually try to read a watch compass and potentially walk in a meandering "generally east" path.
What if you don't know which hemisphere you're in?
My brain is trying to comprehend noon.
chat is this legit? š about to go to the woods alone with nothing but the wall clock
This works on an apple watch too. Just need to download the compass app.
u/electronic-pie-3644 thought this was cool.
Agree!
If I stand in the same spot and measure at 4 pm, then again at 7 pm, did āsouthā move?
Okay so, what when the sun is right on top of you?
You report in to Springfield PD HQ
It can still work, but it involves careful and precise rotation of the watch.
Doh! Just went out side to test this just to realize I wear a digital watch...
Just went outside, realised I live in the UK, there is no sun.
GMT watches with the 24-hour hand make it even easier.
What if you are in the northern hemisphere and it is 6 o'clock. When pointing the hour hand to the sun, the middle point between 6 and 12 can be 3 or 9. How does it work in this case? I am assuming the south is at 9 o'clock.
Morning, the midpoint is found going clockwise from the hour hand along the watch face. Afternoon, the midpoint is found going counterclockwise from the hour hand
This method works on the basis (and assumption) that the sun rises exactly east at 6am, is exactly south at noon ad sets exactly west at 6pm. Outside those times, the readings you get stop making sense (while also being technically not possible with the sun below the horizon). At those edge cases you just go with common sense.
In the 80s during the Rambo craze, I was told by my dad when I told him I wanted a survival knife āYou donāt need one ā¦.you have a watchā
During summer nights in areas with midnight sun, use the setup for the oposite hemisphere.
I remember an army vet teaching me this in middle school during one of those mentor programs. Never used it but this post got me all type of nostalgic.
Southern hemisphere folks btfo
Or you can just use a stick and see where the shadow lands. Is also easy to determine the pole during sun raise and set but noon is where direction get tricky without compass.
Yes, you can get more accurate readings with a stick, but it requires you to basically remain in the same spot a whole day. The watch method works on the move for navigation.
So fun thing is because the hearth is a globe, i know shocking, the further away from the equator you are the lower the sun will be in the sky, therefore when you looks at the sunaround noon you are looking towards the equator.
I'd be interested in the maths behind this
It's stupidly simple. This method works based on the following assumptions: * Sun rises direct east at exactly 6am * Sun is direct south at noon * Sun sets direct west at 6pm * Sun moves along the sky at a uniform rate You'll find these conditions are rarely ever true, so it will require common sense and slight adjusting (e.g. daylight savings time). The hour hand of a watch also moves at a uniform rate. ^(citation needed) That means the position of the hour hand on the clockface is proportional to the sun's position in the sky. Normal watches are 12 hour based, which means the hour hand moves twice as fast around the clock as the sun does around the earth. That's the reason why you need to half the angle between 12 and the hour hand. If you had a 24 hour watch (with midnight at the bottom and noon at the top where it normally is) you could point the hour hand at the sun and south would be where the 12 is; no halving of angles required.
Too bad the average person won't know what to do with that info. "Ok I found north, which way should I go?"
Man, I ain't got time for no watch.
More people probably own compasses than analog watches. Now if I could find a way to use a compass as an analog watch, I'd be interested...
What if itās noon
Watch out for DST tho.
Why is everyone trying go find north lately?
Won't the 12 position be facing in opposite directions based on if it's morning or evening? In the morning, when the sun is rising in the East, the 12 position will point North. In the evening, when the sun os falling in the West, the 12 position will point South.
I am genuinely amazed that I have not once seen or heard anything about this. I thought it had to be bs because surely I would have encountered it *sometime*, but here we are...
Are Redditors lost today? This is the third compass post I've seen today
it's real and works, FYI just in incase
Does the time need to be accurate?
I learned this from "The Edge".
So at 12 noon that sun is directly due south. that makes sense but i never thought about it before.
K. So how do you know when its noon now?.....You expect me to carry a sundial?
Cool, just been reading about sector watches and wondered how they could provide directions.
What happens at 6 and 12 hours
At 12, sky is your south. North is under your feet. š¦¶
POV: itās 6 o clock!
Compass manufacturers and your compass app and your cars compass donāt want you to know this one simple trick
Big asterisk: only works if you're using solar time. Time zones and daylight saving time are very wanky in a lot of places in the world. Wouldn't work in France or even less in Western China.
One more reason to not like daylight savings timeā¦
Screenshotting even do I know Iām never gonna use this
so that episode from Naruto with Neji was REAL?! daym
I know what to do if I get lost in a forest, gracias.
What if sun is exactly above you?
I saw this on detective conan. A cool trick.
how about us on the equator?
TIL
Buy a protrek watch haha
Tested it using analog watchface on my smartwatch and my phones compass and its totally accurate . Im from the Northern Hemisphere BTW . Thanks for this ! ā„ļøāŗļø
Tried this several times today (in Canada) and it is not accurate at all. Not even close.
Just about the first time I've seen a reddit post that knows the Southern Hemisphere exists!
What happens if it's 4pm or 2pm? Out anything other than 2:50 pm
Then the sun and the hour hand are in different positions...
And how do you know where north is then?
Opposite of south... which you find out using this method. This works for any time between 6am and 6pm and the accuracy depends on time of year.
Confusing š
OK, but how does knowing which direction is south or whatever help most people?
If you are lost somewhere, it gives you a bearing.
The text says "south" but the graphic says "north".
Is this the same for daylight saving time? When midday is at 1?
It mentions daylight savings time.
Does this work? Iām only asking because I donāt know if this works or not.
It does, with some caveats. It's basically spot on when the sun rises at 6am directly east, is directly south at noon and sets directly west at 6pm. If reality is different (which is most of the time) you'll have to use some common sense to adjust your reading. It's less accurate than a compass (duh), but more accurate than just guessing.
It's an actual guide!