Solar tracking apparatus

Apparatus for orienting a solar collector with respect to the sun comprising:

• a base member, support means projecting upwardly from said base member, a first photocell carried by said support means and spread above said base member for unobstructed disposition to the sun, a first plurality of photocells each disposed toward the sun carried by said base member and circumferentially spaced from each other about said support means and said first photocell, a second plurality of photocells carried by said support means located intermediate said first photocell and the photocells carried by said base member and inclined toward the latter and away from said first photocell for shading thereof from the sun when said first photocell is in essentially maximum orientation with respect to the sun, each photocell of said first plurality of photocells being partially and equally shaded from the sun by at least one of said first photocell or support means when said first photocell is in said essentially maximum orientation, and electrical means for receiving signals from the photocell and for generating steering signals responsive to shadings and exposures of the photocells.