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9 November 2024
Sunrise: 06:37:40 EST
Solar Noon: 11:40:12 EST
Sunset: 16:42:45 EST

Solar Noon
at Wooster Hall

on the SUNY New Paltz campus

Saturday, 09 November 2024
Time until Solar Noon: (JavaScript Required)

10 November 2024
Sunrise: 06:38:53 EST
Solar Noon: 11:40:18 EST
Sunset: 16:41:44 EST
 

The Story

When Wooster Hall at SUNY New Paltz was remodeled (2014-2016), architect Randy Croxton and his colleagues at Croxton Collaborative Architects, P.C. added a three-story atrium with a staircase which is perfectly aligned in the north-south direction, along with skylights that illuminate part of the staircase each day at solar noon. Depending on the season, the high sun of summer lights the upper staircase, while at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes the base of the stairs is brightened and the shadows align perfectly with markings on the floor.

Planetarium director Raj Pandya pointing to a shadow as it slowly creeps across the base of the staircase near an equinox.

Provided the sky is clear, New Paltz students, faculty and staff gather in the Wooster Hall atrium at solar noon on the Equinoxes and on the Summer Solstice to celebrate the sun, the seasons, and this special feature of the building.

Vernal Equinox in Wooster Hall on March 20, 2023 (credit: Eric Myers)

It is important to keep in mind that the skylight illuminates the stairs at solar noon every day between the spring and fall equinoxes. You don't have to wait until a particular day to see it. The stairs are illuminated at the top on the Summer Solstice and at the bottom on the Equinoxes, and they are illuminated somewhere between the top and bottom throughout spring and summer.

Side view of the Wooster Hall illumination at Solar Noon on the Summer Solstice and the Equinoxes. (Courtesy of Croxton Collaborative Architects, PC)
 

You should, however, keep in mind that the time of solar noon is slightly different each day, and the sun does not care about Daylight Savings Time. The time for solar noon today is at the top of this page. The times for solar noon throughout the year can be found here, though you will need to offset by an hour due to DST. A copy of that timetable is also posted near the staircase.

What happens at the Winter Solstice? The architects did not make any plans for it, but obviously something has to happen. But what? The campus is very quite then, because the students have left for the winter break, but it has been observed, though there are some remaining mysteries.


Sky Conditions


Sky conditions are also available here via Astrospheric.


Weather in New Paltz

Astrospheric
for New Paltz

 

NWS Forecast
for New Paltz

 

WUndermap
RADAR

 

Smolen
Observatory


More of the Story

Here are links to more information about the Wooster Hall staircase:


Photo Spot

A project is in progress to try to record an image of the staircase every day at solar noon (when the weather allows). We will then put these together into a time-lapse video of the light from the skylight going up and down the stairs. You can help by taking a picture from the spot marked on the upstairs railing (see the photo) as close to solar noon as possible.

 
When you have taken your photo, please upload it using this form, or use the QR code on the right of the sign. (You must be logged in to the campus network using your New Paltz User ID (NPUID), but the form gives you an option of remaining anonymous when the photo is used.)

Thank you!

Upload a Photo

 


Local Astronomy Resources


SUNY New Paltz
Smolen Observatory

SUNY New Paltz
John R. Kirk Planetarium


Mid-Hudson Astronomical
Association (MHAA)


Mobile Apps

Astrospheric

Stellarium
Mobile

Planets

SkyView

Sky Safari

Pocket Universe


Stellarium

Stellarium is software which can show you the night sky at any time from any place on the surface of the Earth (and even some planets). It's used in the John R. Kirk Planetarium at SUNY New Paltz, and in other planetariums around the world, but you can also run it on your own computer. It is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can get Stellarium from https://stellarium.org.

Stellarium can be customized to display a 'landscape' around the horizon, which can help you get oriented and show you what parts of the sky might be blocked by terrain or trees. This screen-shot is an example for SUNY New Paltz, and it includes Wooster Hall:

 

You can download a custom landscape for the SUNY New Paltz campus and other nearby locations. Installation is straighforward - just follow these easy instructions.

There are also versions of Stellarium for iOS and Android devices (see above). While Stellarium itself is open-source software, these apps are not free; paying for them rewards the developers for porting the software to mobile platforms.


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