Why doesn't the sun reach its highest point overhead at exactly 12:00 noon?

Question

Many sources state that 12:00 noon is the high-point or mid-point of the sun's path across the sky. However, for where I am, this is obviously wrong. In my own town the high point of the sun occurs at about 13:30 in the summer (because of DST), and 12:30 in the winter, but clearly not 12:00 noon. Why, at different longitudes, is the high-point of the sun not at 12:00? Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

There are a minimum of 2 reasons:

First, it depends on where you are in your time zone. As you move east and west within a time zone, your geometry with respect to the sun changes, but the time does not.

Second, the sun is only directly overhead when your location is on the line between the Sun and the Earth (the line going through the center of each) At the more extreme latitudes, this never happens. In other locations, it only happens once per year.