East Most people know that the sun "rises in the east and sets in the west". However, most people don't realize that this is a generalization. Actually, the sun only rises due east and sets due west on 2 days of the year---the spring and fall equinoxes! The rest of the time, it rises due south and sets due north. At other times of the year, the sun's path across the sky is at an angle to the horizon. In these cases, we can say that it rises somewhere between east and south and sets somewhere between west and north. Here are the dates for each hemisphere. These are the days when the sun is exactly east or west, respectively. Summer: June 21-22 Winter: December 22-23 These are the only times when the sun is perfectly east or west. At all other times, its path is at an angle to the horizon, so it rises somewhere between east and south and sets somewhere between west and north. The direction where the sun is rising or setting is called the zenith. It's important to remember this term since it will be used later on in the article. Now that you know what the zenith is, you might be wondering how far up or down it is.