Course / Where the Sun is: GHA and declination

Part I · Foundations · Page 4 of 4

Minutes and seconds past the hour

Turn to the Increments and Corrections page for the minutes of UT, and read the increment on the line for the seconds. Add it to the whole-hour GHA. On the same page, look up the d correction for the minutes, and apply it to the declination.

The d correction's sign: compare the next hour's declination. If the declination is getting larger the correction is +; if it is getting smaller, −.

Greenwich (London)+ 6°09.3'14h14h 24m 37s
Move the minutes and seconds past 14h. The gold arc is the increment.
GHA at 14h (daily page)
33°33.6'
Increment for 24m 37s
+ 6°09.3'
GHA at 14h 24m 37s
39°42.9'
Dec at 14h (daily page)
S 08°39.4'
d correction (d 0.9′, 24 min)
+0.4′
Dec at 14h 24m 37s
S 08°39.8'

15° an hour is 15′ a minute and 1′ every 4 seconds. The d correction uses whole minutes only.

At 14h24m37s UT on October 15, 2026:

GHA 33°33.6' + increment 6°09.3' = 39°42.9'

Dec S 08°39.4', d correction +0.4′ (growing) = S 08°39.8'