Sunrise and sunset

How it works

Times are computed with the NOAA solar algorithm (accurate to about a minute) and shown in the chosen location's time zone, derived from its coordinates. Works for any date, past or future: great for planning photos, hikes or workouts.

Golden hour and twilight

The golden hour is when the sun is low (up to ~6° above the horizon), loved by photographers for its warm light. Civil twilight runs from first light to sunrise and from sunset to last light: there's still enough light for outdoor activities.

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Days do not lengthen evenly

Near the solstices day length barely changes: between 15 and 25 December you gain a handful of seconds, which is why «the days are drawing out» is not felt until well into January. Near the equinoxes, by contrast, you gain two or three minutes a day.

There is also a fact that surprises everyone: the latest sunrise does not fall on the solstice. In Rome the earliest sunset is around 8 December and the latest sunrise around 3 January, while the shortest day is the 21st: the two ends drift apart because solar noon itself wobbles through the year.

What «sunrise» actually means

Official sunrise is the instant when the upper edge of the Sun touches the horizon, not the centre of the disc. And there is a second adjustment: the atmosphere bends light by about half a degree, so the Sun is visible while it is still geometrically below the horizon.

Together the two corrections bring sunrise forward and push sunset back by several minutes compared with the purely geometric sum. It is also why, on an equinox, the day lasts a little over twelve hours rather than exactly twelve.

Golden hour, blue hour and the three twilights

The golden hour is the band with the Sun below six degrees above the horizon: the light arrives at a grazing angle, warm and soft, and shadows are long. Near the equator it lasts twenty minutes, in Scandinavia in summer it can last hours.

After sunset there are three twilights, not one: civil (to -6°, you can still read outdoors), nautical (to -12°, the horizon is still visible at sea) and astronomical (to -18°, after which the sky is truly dark). The blue hour, with the cold light photographers love, sits inside civil twilight.

Nearby tools

The start of the seasons is in Start of the seasons and the clock change in Daylight saving change. For the Moon, which keeps its own calendar, there is Moon phases.