The angular size of the Sun,"θsun", is the angle spanned in the sky by the Sun as seen from Earth:
Knowing the radius of the Sun "Rsun" and the average distance from Earth to the Sun "dsun", we can estimate the angular size of the Sun by considering the imaginary triangle of the following picture:
Considering trigonometric relations, we find that:
Therefore:
Knowing that:
Rsun = 6.96x105 km
dsun =1AU=1.496x108 km
Now, calculate θsun using the formula:
You can access this online scientific calulator to do the calculation:
Note: To use the arctan (tan-1) function in the calculator you just need to click "func" and then the tan-1function button as shown below:
Value: 10
Calculate θsun using the formula:
Note: Keep 3 decimals in your answer
