At every moment there is one point on Earth where the Sun is directly overhead: its ground position (GP). The almanac gives the GP as two angles, much like a latitude and longitude:

Declination is the GP's latitude, named N or S.
GHA (Greenwich hour angle) is measured from the Greenwich meridian, in London, but always westward, all the way round from 0° to 360°. It never says E or W.

Predict The Sun's GHA is 60°. Where is its ground position?

Move the time to send the GP west; move the date to watch the declination change with the seasons.

Date and time (UT): October 15, 2026, 14:00
GHA (west from Greenwich): 33°33.6'
Declination: S 08°39.4'
The same point as a longitude: W 033°33.6'

GHA under 180° is the same as west longitude.

Date

Through the day the GHA grows by 15° an hour as the GP races west. Through the year the declination swings slowly between the tropics: about N 23°26′ in late June, S 23°26′ in late December, and 0° at the equinoxes in March and September.

The Sun's ground position