Location & Time Settings

Solaris relies on accurate geographic location and time information to perform its core function: calculating the sun's precise position and synchronizing your monitor's brightness and color temperature with natural circadian rhythms. This section guides you through configuring these essential settings.

Why Location and Time Matter

The entire premise of Solaris is to align your display with the natural light cycle outside. To do this effectively, the application needs to know where you are on Earth and what time it is at your location. This allows Solaris to accurately determine:

Sunrise and Sunset times: Crucial for defining the start and end of your day-night cycle.
Solar Noon: The exact moment the sun reaches its highest point, influencing peak brightness.
Solar Elevation and Azimuth: The sun's angle in the sky, which dictates the brightness and color temperature curve throughout the day.
Twilight phases: Defining the gradual transitions at dawn and dusk.

Incorrect location or time settings can lead to inaccurate brightness and color temperature adjustments, diminishing the intended benefits of Solaris.

Configuring Your Geographic Location

Solaris offers both automatic and manual methods to set your location.

Automatic Location Detection (Recommended)

This is the easiest and most accurate way to configure your location. Solaris can automatically detect your approximate or precise geographic coordinates using your operating system's location services.

Navigate to the Settings section in the Solaris application.
Look for the Location subsection.
Ensure the "Automatically detect my location" option is enabled.
- Solaris will typically request permission to access your location data from Windows. Please grant this permission for optimal functionality.
Once enabled, Solaris will periodically update your location to ensure accuracy, especially if you move between different geographic areas (e.g., using a laptop).

Manual Location Entry

If you prefer not to use automatic location detection, or if it's unavailable or inaccurate, you can manually enter your location.

Navigate to the Settings section in the Solaris application.
In the Location subsection, disable "Automatically detect my location".
You will then be able to:
- Search for a city: Type the name of your city (e.g., London, New York City, Tokyo) into the designated field. Solaris will attempt to find a match and populate the coordinates.
- Enter Coordinates (Latitude & Longitude): For the most precise control, you can directly input your latitude and longitude.
  - Latitude: Enter a value between -90 and 90 (e.g., 51.5074 for London).
  - Longitude: Enter a value between -180 and 180 (e.g., -0.1278 for London).
  - Ensure you use decimal degrees for accuracy.

Once you've entered your location manually, Solaris will use these fixed coordinates for all solar calculations until you change them or re-enable automatic detection.

Timezone and Daylight Saving

Solaris integrates seamlessly with your operating system's time and timezone settings.

System Timezone: Solaris uses your system's configured timezone (e.g., GMT, EST, CET) to accurately calculate local sunrise, sunset, and solar events. There is no separate timezone setting within Solaris.
Daylight Saving Time (DST): As Solaris relies on your system's time, any adjustments for Daylight Saving Time are automatically handled by your operating system. Solaris will adapt its calculations accordingly without requiring manual intervention from your side.

Recommendation: Ensure your operating system's date, time, and timezone settings are correct and configured to update automatically for the most reliable performance of Solaris.

Location Data Privacy

Solaris is designed with your privacy in mind. Any location data collected, whether automatically detected or manually entered, is used strictly locally within the application on your device. It is used solely to calculate solar positions and adjust your monitor settings; it is not transmitted to external servers or shared with third parties.

For more detailed information, please refer to the Solaris Privacy Policy.