Photographing Machu Picchu

[Photolandscape]

I will be staying in Aguas Calientes, just down the mountain from Machu Picchu, for three days in late August. My intention is to go up on the first bus each morning, and return around sundown each day, photographing and exploring throughout the day.

This may sound ignorant, but never having been south of the equator, what should I expect in late August (winter in the southern hemisphere)? Fairly late sunrise? Does the sun rise low out of the Southeast, or? What time would sundown be? Is there some way to look this sort of stuff up on the internet?

Thanks,

SP

[wolfnowl]

Hi SP:

The US Navy has an astronomical calculator here:

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html#formb

You enter the location and the dates you're looking for.  Using Google Earth, Machu Picchu is at:

72 deg, 42.7 min West longitude and
13 deg, 9.8 min South latitude

5 hours west of Greenwich mean time

Using those values, the report for August 31 is:
_____
U.S. Naval Observatory
Astronomical Applications Department

Sun and Moon Data for One Day

The following information is provided for Machu Picchu (longitude W72.5, latitude S13.2):

        Friday  
        31 August 2007        Universal Time - 5h            

                         SUN
        Begin civil twilight      05:34                
        Sunrise                   05:55                
        Sun transit               11:50                
        Sunset                    17:46                
        End civil twilight        18:07                

                         MOON
        Moonrise                  20:04 on preceding day
        Moon transit              02:09                
        Moonset                   08:10                
        Moonrise                  21:03                
        Moonset                   08:56 on following day

 

Phase of the Moon on 31 August:   waning gibbous with 86% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

Full Moon on 28 August 2007 at 05:34 (Universal Time - 5h).
_____

Hope that helps.

Mike

(now imagine trying to figure this out 20 years ago...)


P.S. Peru does NOT use DST...

[mahleu]

I'm not sure exactly how far south it is, but around here (South Africa) you do not get a long sunset. It's not like the northern hemisphere where the night comes in very slowly.