How to find sunrise and sunset times
- Press “Sunrise & sunset here” to use your location, or search a city, town or address anywhere.
- Read today’s times: sunrise, sunset, daylight and solar noon, each in the place’s own time zone.
- Change the date with the arrows or the calendar, for example to see what time the sun rises tomorrow or on a holiday.
- Scroll the monthly table to plan a trip, a photo shoot or a run, and click any day to see its full twilight times.
Twilight and golden hour explained
| Moment | Sun position | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Golden hour | 6° above to the horizon | Low, warm, soft light that photographers prefer |
| Sunrise / sunset | Top edge on the horizon | The moments given in weather forecasts |
| Civil twilight | 0° to 6° below | Still light enough to be outdoors without lamps; "first light" and "last light" |
| Nautical twilight | 6° to 12° below | The horizon fades; sailors could still take star sightings |
| Astronomical twilight | 12° to 18° below | Sky almost dark; faint stars appear |
| Night | More than 18° below | Fully dark sky for stargazing |
The blue hour that photographers talk about is roughly the civil twilight just before sunrise and after sunset, when the sky turns deep blue.
Why day length changes through the year
The Earth’s axis is tilted by about 23.4 degrees, so for half the year each hemisphere leans toward the sun and gets longer days. Days change fastest around the equinoxes in March and September, by two to four minutes a day in mid latitudes such as London or New York, and slowest around the solstices in June and December. Near the equator the day stays close to 12 hours all year. North of the Arctic Circle the sun does not set at all around midsummer and does not rise around midwinter; the tool shows both.