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More common terms for solar zenith and solar azimuth #1403

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@cwhanse

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@cwhanse

In pvlib, two solar zenith quantities are of interest: true (geometric) zenith angle, and apparent (refraction corrected) zenith angle. Currently, zenith, solar_zenith and apparent_zenith all appear in different places, and the meaning of each isn't consistent throughout. For example, solarposition/spa_c uses zenith (true) and apparent_zenith (refraction-corrected), and Location methods expect these terms. But both apparent_zenith and solar_zenith are used in SingleAxisTracker methods (the latter without being specific in the docstring), and in places where I think refraction-corrected zenith should be expected, e.g., PVSystem.get_aoi.

For solar azimuth, there is not counterpart to true vs. refraction-corrected. But for the solar azimuth, both azimuth and solar_azimuth are being used.

Describe the solution you'd like

  1. Agreement on the pvlib meaning of zenith and solar_zenith. apparent_zenith's meaning is clear. The other two terms leave room for uncertainty.

  2. Agreement on one term to use for solar azimuth: azimuth or solar_azimuth.

Describe alternatives you've considered
It makes sense to have a term that is not specific to true or apparent zenith. Perhaps zenith for this use, and solar_zenith specifically for true zenith?

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