I’m in the northern hemisphere, why does the sun seem like it is setting in the north west?

Question

I’ve lived in my house for a few summers. Ever year around the solstice the sun seems to set in the north. I live in a city that’s laid out like a grid and always just assumed my street was on a slight angle. I just took out a compass and it’s not, the front of my house faces perfectly west and the sun seems to be setting slightly north, to the right of the window. I’m very confused. Is the sun playing a trick on me?

In: Physics

Answer 1

It depends on where in the Northern hemisphere you live. The [Tropic of Cancer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_of_Cancer) is the farthest North that the sun can be directly overhead, as the Earth revolves around the sun on a tilted axis. If you live between that and the Equator, the sun will occasionally be to the North of you.