Sunrise & Sunset Times

Civil twilight occurs when the sun is 0° to 6° below the horizon – there's enough light for outdoor activities without artificial lighting. Nautical twilight (6° to 12° below) allows sailors to see the horizon and stars for navigation. Astronomical twilight (12° to 18° below) is when the sky is dark enough for most astronomical observations. Beyond 18°, it's true night.

The Earth's axial tilt (23.5°) and its elliptical orbit around the sun cause day length to vary with seasons. In summer, your hemisphere tilts toward the sun, bringing earlier sunrises and later sunsets. Winter days are shorter. The equinoxes (around March 20 & September 22) bring nearly equal day and night everywhere.

This tool automatically adjusts for the local time zone and any DST in effect for the date you select. We fetch the exact UTC offset for that date using a time zone API, so the times you see reflect what a clock on the wall would show at that location.

Absolutely. Use the date picker to select any date – decades in the past or future. The calculations are astronomically accurate for thousands of years, though for very distant dates (e.g., 10,000 years) minor orbital changes may affect precision.

Near the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, the sun may stay above the horizon for 24 hours (midnight sun) or never rise (polar night) on certain dates. When an event like sunrise doesn't occur, we display “N/A”. The exact dates depend on latitude.

Golden hour is the period shortly after sunrise or before sunset when daylight is redder, softer, and ideal for photography. SunCalc defines it as when the sun is between 6° above the horizon and 4° below. We display the end of morning golden hour and the start of evening golden hour.