FACTOID #31: Think Antarctica is inhospitable? Think again - its land area is only ninety-eight percent ice. Reassuringly, the other 2% is "barren rock".
The solar elevation angle is the elevation angle of the sun. That is, the angle between the direction of the sun and the (idealized) horizon. It can be calculated, to a good approximation, using the following formula: Elevation has several related meanings: Geography The elevation of a geographic location is its height above mean sea level (or possibly some other fixed point). ... A Sun is the star at the center of a solar system. ... A Sun is the star at the center of a solar system. ... For the television programme, see Horizon. ...
In astronomy, an objects hour angle (HA) is defined as the difference between the current local sidereal time (LST) and the right ascension (RA) of the object: HAobject = LST - RAobject Thus, the objects hour angle indicates how much sidereal time has passed since the object was on the... In astronomy declination (dec) is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. ... Latitude, denoted by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ...
The solarelevationangle relative to the ring plane is the same in all of the renderings.
The brightening of the rings as the phase angle drops to 0 degrees is known as the opposition effect and is very pronounced in the case of Saturn's rings.
It is known that as the phase angle increases from 0 to 6 degrees the brightness of the rings drops substantially (20-25%).
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