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How to Read a Compass by the Sun

Since the sun can be viewed as following a fixed course during the day, rising in the east and setting in the west, it is a valuable navigational aid for anyone traveling through unfamiliar terrain. If you have both a compass and a clear view of the sun, you can easily navigate toward a desired location or in a specific direction. Learning to orient using the sun's position and a compass gives you a greater chance of finding your way toward civilization if you become lost than if you had to depend on just one of these methods.

Things You'll Need

Compass
Watch

Instructions

- 1
  Practice in an open field on a day when you have a clear view of the sun.
- 2
  Look at the compass and turn until you are facing north. The compass needle will always point north, so when you and the needle are facing the same way, you are looking north.
- 3
  Check the time of day. This will help you to understand the relationship between the sun's position and the time of day.
- 4
  Locate the sun and take note of its position. If it is morning, the sun will be in the right side of the sky, and in the afternoon, it will be to the left. At noon, it should be around the center of the sky.
- 5
  Turn and face south and find your bearings. The position of the sun relative to the time of day will be opposite if you are moving southward, so the sun will be to the left in the morning and to the right in the afternoon.
- 6
  Try orienting yourself in a more wooded or secluded area once you are comfortable with locating yourself in an open field.

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